Publication

This paper discusses potential changes in the US' Syria policy as a result of the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant’s (ISIL) military successes in June 2014 and what they reveal about the situation in the region. The author states that as a result of ISIL's advances, the US president proposed a package to train and arm moderate Syrian rebels. He maintains that this change of heart in Washington reveals important insights, such as a realization that only military pressure can force Assad’s downfall, that the absence of a credible military force of moderates in Syria has made ISIL’s success possible, and that arming the moderate opposition provides a necessary counterforce to Hezbollah.