Browse Archive By Year
Ahval
Are Turkey and the Islamic HTS group in Syria’s Idlib allies?
April 05, 2021
Professor Joshua Landis, Director of the Center of Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, also believes that Turkey has “accepted the supremacy of HTS and Jolani in Idlib province.”
“It has done little to push Jolani aside,” he told Ahval. “Turkey’s acceptance of Jolani is largely due to Ankara’s belief that the ‘Syrian National Army’ and other Syrian militias that Ankara supports do not have the power or leadership to challenge Jolani.”
Voice of America
Analysts Urge Diplomatic Pressure on Russia to Allow Syria Aid Convoys
March 30, 2021
Syria researcher Joshua Landis at the University of Oklahoma says competing views by the U.S. and Russia over Syria’s sovereignty play into the aid issue.
“The United States supports Syrian sovereignty but a government change and an imposition of U.N. resolutions which would cause a political change in Damascus. And that’s where we get into this larger struggle over border issues and aid,” Landis said
Al-Jazeera Arabic
March 19 2021
ABC National Radio: Between the Lines with Tom Switzer
March 19, 2021
Radio interview with Professor Joshua Landis
The Newsmakers – TRT World
March 15, 2021
“Syria has become the battleground for a much larger superpower and regional tug-of-war”
Alhurra
دبلوماسية أميركية لعلاج ملف إيران النووي
March 4, 2021
Interview with Professor Joshua Landis
Ahval
What will President Biden’s Syria policy look like
February 21, 2021
Professor Joshua Landis, head of Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, doesn’t believe that Syria is “a high priority” for Washington.
“Trump largely handed off its Syria policy to Turkey and Israel,” he said.
School of International Service, AU
The Biden Administration and the future of Syria
February 17, 2021
BBC News
What are the benefits of militant attacks on US bases in Iraq for Iran?
February 16, 2021
Joshua Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, says the attack on the US base in Iraq is aimed at drawing the attention of the new US administration to the fact that if there is no agreement with Iran, there will be no peace in the region.
The New Arab
“Turkey’s occupation of North Syria is assessed very differently by different groups in the region,” Professor Joshua Landis, a noted Syria expert and head of Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, told The New Arab.
“For Kurds, Turkey’s incursions and rule have been a disaster,” he said. “The expulsion of Kurds in places like Afrin and Ras al-Ayn and the settlement of Arab refugees in homes where Kurds once lived is viewed as ethnic cleansing.”
Middle East Eye
‘Wise diplomacy’: How will Biden tackle US foreign policy towards Syria?
February 8, 2021
“Joshua Landis, the director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma and who specialises in Syria, told Middle East Eye that Trump’s strategy had been “to turn Syria into a quagmire”.
“The end game was to bring about some form of regime change through peaceful means, which is a mishmash of various policies in the past, to make them palatable for today,” Landis said. “But they’re not realisable.”
Foreign Affairs
How to Win the Influence Contest in the Middle East
February 3, 2021
“The United States and its partners in the Middle East have two problems with Iran. One stems from Tehran’s penetration of neighboring states; the other, from its nuclear program, which could yield weapons if left unchecked.”
Al Jazeera
Syria sanctions inflict suffering as al-Assad regime marches on
January 16, 2021
Foreign NGOs estimate that prices of most daily products have gone up 30 percent due to sanctions
Al Jazeera – Inside Story
What’s the actual human cost of Syria’s war?
January 12, 2021
There has to be a re-evaluation in the policy of Europe and the United States towards Syria because as long as it can’t rebuild, Lebanon’s economy is going to be weak, Jordan’s going to be weak and Iraq is going to be weak; the entire region.
Financial Times
Walid al-Muallem, Syrian foreign minister, 1941-2020
December 4, 2020
The Progressive
Foreign correspondent: Iran assassination aims to hurt Biden
December 3, 2020
America needs a deal…US supremacy in the world has taken a nosedive. Other powers are successfully competing with the US. The US is bogged down in the Middle East and needs to avoid nuclear proliferation in the region without going to war with Iran
Crusoé
Com aprovação de lei para enriquecer mais urânio, Irã se EUA
December 1, 2020
“Faz mu ito sentido para o Ira aumentar o enriquecim ento de uranio e proibir inspec;oes antes de a equipe de Biden chegar ao poder. lsso coloca o Ira em uma posic;ao melhor para barganhar, porque quanto mais tempo o time de Biden levar para negociar, mais o Ira enriquecera uranio”
Ahval
Is Turkey gearing up to attack the Syrian Kurds again?
November 26, 2020
Turkey may well try to exploit U.S. weakness during this awkward transition period. President Trump has made it clear that he wants to draw down U.S. troop presence in the region and seeks to end the ‘forever wars’. President Biden’s foreign policy team is not firmly in place yet, but he has surrounded himself with liberal hawks who insist that the U.S. must retain its presence in Syria to force a ‘political solution’ to Syria and help the Kurds.
The Telegraph
‘The war riche’: Syrian elites skirt US sanctions amid economic turmoil
November 15, 2020
“The price of doing business is going up 35 to 40 per cent because of all the difficulties”
Al-Arabiya
Professor Joshua Landis Interview with Talal Alhaj
October 30, 2020
“Russia is banking on Turkey moving away from the West”
Centre for Strategic and Diplomatic Studies
U.S. Challenges in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon
October 22, 2020
“The weaker Assad becomes, the more Iran is influential.”
The National Interest
To Beat China, Support People, Not Illiberal Elites
October 21, 2020
“Those with the guns eat first”
The Washington Diplomat
Sinam Mohamed Pushes U.S. Not To Abandon Her Fellow Kurds in Syria
September 25, 2020
“Israel is worried about Syria and its relationship with Iran, and therefore it has a big interest in the United States staying in Syria,” Landis said. “And I assume that pro-Israeli interests in Washington will work closely with the Kurds to promote this love affair between Americans and the Kurds.”
The American Prospect
From the U.S. to Syria, a Doctor Smuggles Lifesaving Equipment
September 22, 2020
“These sanctions are so sweeping, that you have no way to know what’s going to be sanctioned.”
Quincy Institute
U.S. policy in Syria: Is regime change worth state failure?
September 10, 2020
RT
September 10, 2020
“Astonishing that the U.S. would not place sanctions on the Ponzi scheme master-mind who brought ruin to millions of Lebanese, Riad Salame. Instead it sanctions two-bit ministers connected to Hezbollah. Talk about cynical exploitation of port tragedy.”
Alhurra
من العاصمة.. صعود واضح للعرب الأميركيين في الحياة السياسية
September 7, 2020
Voice of America
Syrian Economy Continues to Struggle as Sanctions Bite, Shortages Hit
September 8, 2020
New Delhi Times
US-Russia skirmish in Northern Syria leads to minor US injuries
August 29, 2020
Voice of America
US-Russia skirmish in Northern Syria leads to minor US injuries
August 27, 2020
“With so many armies and militias all claiming legitimate control of the same small territory, conflict and provocation are to be expected.”
Al Jazeera
Syria talks ‘on hold’ as delegates test positive for COVID-19
August 24, 2020
“The Syrian government has put its foot down and said that only Syrians are going to decide the future of Syria … It has won the war so it’s unlikely to allow for outside powers and the UN to change the constitution very much,”
The Grayzone
Crushing US sanctions devastate Syria’s people and post-war reconstruction
August 21, 2020
Interview with Aaron Maté
Antiwar
Our cruel collective punishment of the Syrian People
August 20, 2020
“Although the United States says it is “protecting” Syria’s oil fields in the northeast, it has not given the Syrian government access to repair them, and US sanctions prohibit any firm of any nationality from repairing them – unless the administration wishes to make an exception”
ABC National Radio: Between the Lines with Tom Switzer
August 20, 2020
Radio interview with Professor Joshua Landis
Reuters
A collapsing economy and a family feud pile pressure on Syria’s Assad
August 13, 2020
The Makhlouf side was generally better educated and refined, so they could help out with the finances, which is something the Assads were not good at and didn’t have the education for…They were also better at dealing with the people of Damascus and Aleppo, who dominate Syria’s economy.
Annahar Newspaper
تل أبيب تهدّد إيران بإخراجها من سوريا… أيّ
موقف سيتّخذه بوتين؟
April 30, 2020
أعلن وزير الدفاع الإسرائيلي نفتالي بينيت الاثنين أنّ تل أبيب انتقلت من مرحلة “لجم ترسّخ إيران في سوريا إلى إجبارها على الخروج من هنالك”. وأضاف: “نحن لن نتوقّف.” أتى ذلك قبل ساعات على استهداف الإسرائيليّين مجموعة من المقاتلين التابعين لإيران في دمشق وبعد أيّام قليلة على شنّ غارات ضدّ مجموعة أخرى في تدمر. وإذا كانت هكذا غارات غير جديدة فإنّ تلازمها مع تصريحات بينيت ومسؤولين آخرين يمكن أن يفتح الصراع على قواعد اشتباك جديدة. أمّا نافذتها الأولى فقد تكون غياب استقرار العلاقات الروسيّة-الإيرانيّة:
World Affairs Council
Joshua Landis on the Syrian Civil War, Assad’s Presidency, and the Impacts of U.S. Withdrawal
April 29, 2020
Arab News
Why coronavirus is a ticking bomb in war-ravaged northern Syria
April 19, 2020
“Tensions are extremely high as six armies are in a standoff: The Turkish Army, the Syrian Army, the SDF, the US Army, along with Russian and Iranian forces stationed in the region, not to mention the many proxy militias, which have their own agendas,” Landis said. “This makes getting aid to the region or coordinating policy impossible.”
Just World Educational
Commonsense on Syria
March 25, 2020
Zoom interview and discussion with Dr. Joshua Landis and other contributors.
NPR
The Next Chapter in Syria’s Civil War
March 6, 2020
Radio interview with Dr. Joshua Landis.
Ahval
Is Syria’s historical territorial claim to Turkey’s Hatay being resurrected amid Idlib crisis?
March 5, 2020
Professor Joshua Landis, Director of Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, noted that the reopening of this issue is an indication of just how bad Ankara-Damascus relations have deteriorated.
“Sputnik’s reporting on the issue indicates that Russia is also looking for ways to increase pressure on Ankara short of going to war,” Landis told Ahval.
RÆSON
Syrienforsker Joshua Landis om Idlib: Europa lader kynisk Tyrkiet håndtere konsekvenserne af Vestens fejlslagne politik
March 3, 2020
Interview med Joshua Landis.
Ahval
Analysts: Neither Turkey nor Russia lived up to agreements on Syria’s Idlib
February 23, 2020
“Turkey did not fulfill its commitments under the Astana Agreement,” said Professor Joshua Landis, Director of the Center of Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma.
He pointed out that under the September 2018 agreement, Turkey was supposed to facilitate the reopening of the key highways in Idlib and arrange the withdrawal of HTS from a planned demilitarized zone along with their heavy weaponry.
Hürriyet Newspaper
Esad rejimi çatışmalara ara verebilir
February 19, 2020
Landis: “Esad, İdlib’i kontrol etme çabaları kapsamında taktiksel bir ara vermeyi düşünebilir ancak Suriye’nin tamamını ele geçirme hedefini bırakmayacak. Suriye ve Rusya, İdlib’de bağımsız bir devlet yapılanmasına ve geçmişte Hatay örneğinde görüldüğü gibi halk oylamasıyla Türkiye’ye bağlanacak bir durumu yol açabileceğini düşündükleri kalıcı ateşkes anlaşması imzalamak istemiyor.”
NPR Background Briefing with Ian Masters
The UN Warns of “The Biggest Humanitarian Horror Story of the 21st Century” In Syria
February 18, 2020
Dr. Landis speaks with Ian Masters
KGOU
Iran-US Conflict: What’s Next For The Region?
February 10, 2020
Held February 3rd, 2020 at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, “Iran-US Conflict: What’s Next for the Region?” featured OU professors Samer Shehata and Joshua Landis joined by Trita Parsi of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.
VOA
Will the Recapture of Syria’s Idlib Affect Islamic State?
February 3, 2020
“If the Syrian regime retakes Idlib province, the ISIS members who have taken refuge in the Islamist dominated enclave will be killed or flee into Turkey,” said Joshua Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma.
Tulsa Public Radio
“The U.S. and the Middle East: Making Sense of Oil, Regime Change, and Forever Wars” at the TCFR
January 14, 2020
Guest Dr. Joshua Landis, Director of the Center for Middle East Studies and Professor at the University of Oklahoma’s College of International Studies, gives an address at the Tulsa Committee on Foreign Relations.
El Diario Vasco
Las calles de Teherán lloran a Soleimani
January 7, 2020
Para el analista Joshua Landis, director de Syria Comment, este asesinato «no tiene sentido alguno para la política exterior de Estados Unidos porque en lugar de desalentar a Irán, le provoca; empuja a Irak a los brazos de los iraníes; abre las puertas a la expulsión de las tropas; convierte en objetivo a los estadounidenses en países como Irak o Líbano y muestra al mundo que su política está fuera de cualquier ley», según compartió a través de las redes sociales.
Syria Direct
The Caesar Act: The beginning or end of US Syria Policy?
January 5, 2020
Opponents of the Caesar Act warned that these shortages would only worsen and that reconstruction efforts would be hindered under the newest round of punishing sanctions. “The act will severely delay the effort to rebuild after the war or to provide Syrians with electricity, heating, cooking gas, and other basic commodities needed for existence,” Dr. Joshua Landis, the director of the University of Oklahoma’s Center for Middle East Studies Program and founder of the Syria Comment blog, told Syria Direct.
SOHA
Chuyên gia quốc tế: Iran sẽ không dùng chiến tranh vũ trang để trả đũa Mỹ lúc này vì họ cầm chắc thất bại
January 5, 2020
Trả lời phỏng vấn Trí Thức Trẻ, ông Joshua Landis – Giám đốc Trung tâm Nghiên cứu Trung Đông – Khoa Nghiên cứu Khu vực và Quốc tế, Đại học Oklahoma (Mỹ) nhận định, Iran đã thề sẽ làm leo thang cuộc chiến với Mỹ sau khi Washington rút khỏi thỏa thuận hạt nhân với Iran và tái áp đặt các biện pháp trừng phạt đối với nước này.
