Skip to main content

Since 2012, the Week in Review keeps you ahead of the curve with in-depth analysis of the trends in the region, based on Al-Monitor’s world class reporting.

Obama says no plans to remove Assad

Obama says no for now to regime change in Syria; Dark backs ‘freeze’ in divided Aleppo; Syrian opposition holds its own in south; Israel, Palestinians fear religious war; Is Egypt winning battle against IS-linked group?
U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at a news conference at the end of the G20 Leaders Summit in Brisbane November 16, 2014. Obama said on Sunday that Russia would remain isolated by the international community if President Vladimir Putin continued to violate international law and treaties aimed at ending the conflict in Ukraine. REUTERS/Jason Reed (AUSTRALIA - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS) - RTR4EB4N

Islamic State intelligence network stifles resistance

Terrorist group reportedly uses Saddam-era intelligence officers and tactics; Syria’s Alawites seek accountability from government; Syrian army advances around Hama; Temple Mount as flash point; Egyptian campaign against terrorists in the Sinai Peninsula makes life harder for residents of the Gaza Strip.
RTR4BVHG.jpg

Who will Turkey 'train and equip' in Syria?

Turkey reportedly to train mostly Turkmen force, primarily to oppose Bashar al-Assad, not Islamic State; Al-Monitor Syria Pulse correspondents report on fighting in Aleppo and Daraa; Why did Assad dismiss his top security official?
Turkish Kurds watch the smoke rises from Syrian town of Kobani near the Mursitpinar border crossing, on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province, October 18, 2014. A U.S.-led military coalition has been bombing Islamic State fighters who hold a large swathe of territory in both Iraq and Syria, two countries involved in complex multi-sided civil wars in which nearly every country in the Middle East has a stake..    REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach (TURKEY  - Tags: MILITARY POL

Do Syrians support US airstrikes in Syria?

Syrians worry about US airstrikes; Iran could be bridge to Syria in international coalition against the Islamic State (IS); Syrian Revolutionary Forces reject report of pact with IS; Syrian Kurds lose ground to IS; Iran claims leadership in battle against IS terrorists.
RTR472B9.jpg