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Aside from President Obama, none of the main players in Syria has an interest in rushing toward Raqqa, so they will likely focus on exploiting the various campaigns around Aleppo instead.

Four eminent scholars and policy practitioners debate the president's worldview and how it will shape American interests and options in the next administration.

While Washington and its coalition partners have begun to roll back some of the Islamic State's territorial gains, what more can be done to defeat the group and, until then, protect civilians?

Current and former officials from the United States and Europe examine next steps for counterterrorism efforts after the Brussels attacks.

Read a summary or watch video of this energetic debate on how Washington should balance vitally important relationships with Turkey and the Syrian Kurds in the fight against the Islamic State.

Two experts discuss Russia's increasingly assertive regional policy and what it means for American and allied interests. Read a summary or watch video of the full event.

Strong ground support for moderate rebels would be needed to keep any buffer zone in the northwest from falling under the control of al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate.

Facebook's head of global policy management, a former federal prosecutor and legal advisor to the State Department, shares her insights into the evolving threats to personal privacy and security and the private sector's role in defending against them.

Can the Islamic State be beaten in the banks as well as on the battlefield? Watch three Institute experts discuss government and private-sector efforts to cut off its funding.

Both Idlib province and eastern Aleppo province have been relatively spared from the fighting, and their rural communities remain strong.

If Moscow and Damascus have their way, the latest ceasefire will further divide the rebels, isolate Turkey, and facilitate their ongoing military and political strategy for preserving Assad's rule.

A senior foreign policy advisor to Iraqi Kurdish President Barzani discusses the state of U.S.-Kurdish military cooperation, the situation in Iraq and Syria, Kurdistan's economic needs, and the region's future.

With ample Russian and Iranian help, regime forces have cut the rebels' main lifeline in the north, and they will likely steer their relentless steamroller to the west unless outside powers take action.

When the next President enters office, Iran will be a nuclear-weapons threshold state operating more than 5,000 centrifuges, with more than 14,000 additional ones at hand but deactivated—assuming the July 14 accord is implemented and survives its infancy. It will be openly engaged in research and development on advanced centrifuges

Although the latest Kurdish offensive runs the risk of spurring direct Turkish intervention, it could also help isolate Islamic State forces in the area from their capital, with significant implications for the rest of the combatants in Syria.

Veteran Palestinian and Israeli policymakers respond to a new study on how Western governments can help preserve the viability of a two-state solution without launching broad, risky diplomatic campaigns aimed at forcing direct bilateral talks.

Three experts discuss what polls conducted inside the group's territory tell us about its political strength, ability to govern, and appeal beyond Iraq and Syria.

Two prominent Muslim intellectuals discuss how to strengthen moderation within Islam and counter the radical ideology that has emerged in its name.

As various forces converge against the main rebel supply line in northern Syria, Russia's wooing of the Kurds could make Turkey rethink its approach.

The escalating conflict remains a sectarian war, and deliberate ethnic cleansing by various actors is drawing new internal borders that will be difficult to erase.