Published Work
Century International, “The United States Should Stop Cosponsoring Israel’s War on Lebanon,” 22 October 2024.
TIME, “Where Hezbollah Goes From Here,” 5 October 2024.
Century International, “Washington Can’t Make Israel’s War in Gaza Moral. Instead, It Needs to End the War.” 9 April 2024.
World Politics Review, “The U.S. Should Start Planning Its Exit From Iraq and Syria,” 25 March 2024.
World Politics Review, “Hezbollah Won’t Stand Down Without a Cease-Fire in Gaza,” 8 March 2024.
2023
Century International, “It’s Time for a Ceasefire in Gaza—and Then a New Push for Peace,” 21 November 2023 (with Thanassis Cambanis and Dahlia Scheindlin).
Century International, “International Aid Keeps Lebanon Afloat. It Could Also Be Destroying Its Institutions,” 7 November 2023, in English; and Arabic.
Century International, “Adopt a Ministry: How Foreign Aid Threatens Lebanon’s Institutions,” 7 November 2023.
Century International, “America Needs to Prevent a Regional War in the Middle East,” 16 October 2023 (with Thanassis Cambanis).
Foreign Affairs, “The Upsides of Syrian Normalization,” 14 August 2023.
The New Humanitarian, “What lessons can be drawn from the international earthquake response in Syria?” 14 August 2023.
Century International, “How Lebanon’s Elites Sabotaged an IMF Rescue,” 27 June 2023 (with Sami Zoughaib).
Century International/The Policy Initiative, “The Shadow Plan: How Lebanese Elites Are Sabotaging Their Country’s IMF Lifeline,” 12 June 2023 (with Sami Zoughaib).
Century International, “A Humane Choice: Sanctions Relief for Syria’s Earthquake,” 7 March 2023.
2022
War on the Rocks, “Turkey's Russian Red Light in Syria,” 30 December 2022.
Century International, “The Mysterious Pipeline for ISIS Recruits from Northern Lebanon,” 14 November 2022.
Century International, “Syrian Prisoner Amnesty Could Be a Breakthrough—If Damascus Is Ready to Do More,” 4 August 2022.
Century International, “Economic Collapse—Not Elections—Will Shape Lebanon’s Future,” 11 May 2022.
Foreign Affairs, “The Ponzi Scheme That Broke Lebanon,” 18 April 2022.
Century International, “Russia’s War in Ukraine Will Also Hurt Syria,” 5 April 2022.
Century International, “U.S. Policy Finally Distinguishes Between Lebanon and Hezbollah,” 25 January 2022.
2021
Century International, “‘Early Recovery’ Aid Can Provide Vital Relief to Syrians—If Donors Follow Through,” 16 December 2021.
War on the Rocks, “Lights on in Lebanon: Limiting the Fallout from U.S. Sanctions on Syria,” 10 November 2021.
The Century Foundation, “Lebanon Is in Free Fall. Opposition Groups Have Radically Different Ideas about How to Save It.” 14 September 2021.
DAWN’s Democracy in Exile, “The Dire Costs of Ending the U.N.'s Cross-Border Aid Into Syria,” 25 June 2021.
The Century Foundation, “Syrians Are Going Hungry. Will the West Act?” 7 June 2021.
The Daily Beast, “Biden’s Syria Airstrikes May Feel Like Trump Déjà Vu. Here’s What’s Different.” 27 February 2021.
War on the Rocks, “Redefining Victory in America’s War Against the Islamic State in Syria,” 5 January 2021.
2020
ناس نيوز، “أزمة النزوح … وأصعب تحدياتها” 2 نوفمبر 2020.
War on the Rocks, “What Are America’s Sanctions on Syria Good for?” 29 September 2020.
International Crisis Group, “When Measuring ISIS’s ‘Resurgence,’ Use the Right Standard,” 13 May 2020.
War on the Rocks, “Leak Reveals Jihadists’ Weakening Grip in Syria’s Idlib,” 10 April 2020.
War on the Rocks, “In Iraq, Restraint Is America’s Best Option” (with Maria Fantappie), 30 March 2020.
2019
War on the Rocks, “A Glimpse into the Islamic State’s External Operations, Post-Caliphate,” 29 May 2019.
Valdai Club, “Idlib: Maintaining the Sochi Deal Is By No Means an Ideal Solution, but for Now It Is the Best One on Offer,” 22 March 2019.
2018
International Crisis Group, “Rightsizing the Transnational Jihadist Threat,” 12 December 2018.
War on the Rocks, “‘Frogs’ and ‘Geckos’: Syria’s Jihadists Speak the Language of Rebellion,” 22 October 2018.
The Atlantic, “Russia Can Stop a Slaughter in Idlib,” 7 September 2018.
War on the Rocks, “As Assad Turns to Syria’s Southwest, Washington Faces a Choice,” 21 June 2018.
Valdai Club, “Syria: Humanitarian Corridors,” 8 March 2018.
The Century Foundation, “Managing Syrian Conflict May Be Possible. Resolving It Isn’t.” (with Thanassis Cambanis), 12 February 2018.
War on the Rocks, “America in Search of an Un-Geneva in Syria,” 8 January 2018.
2017
Perspectives on Terrorism, “The Strategic Logic of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham,” 18 December 2017.
The Century Foundation, “Syrian Humanitarian ‘Lifeline’ Goes to Vote,” 18 December 2017.
The Century Foundation, “Geneva Talks Will Not Salvage U.S. Syria Policy,” 12 December 2017.
The Century Foundation, “Turkey Through the Syrian Looking Glass,” 28 November 2017.
War on the Rocks, “What an Unfolding Humanitarian Disaster in a U.S.-Protected Enclave Tells Us About American Strategy in Syria,” 20 November 2017.
World Politics Review, “What Will a Post-ISIS Political Order in Syria Actually Look Like?” 16 November 2017.
The Century Foundation, “Saving America’s Syrian Ceasefire,” 20 October 2017.
Foreign Affairs, “Don’t Fund Syria’s Reconstruction,” 4 October 2017.
The Century Foundation, “Desert Base Is Displaced Syrians’ Last Line of Defense,” 8 September 2017.
War on the Rocks, “A Deadly Delusion: Were Syria’s Rebels Ever Going to Defeat the Jihadists?” 10 August 2017.
The Century Foundation, “America Had Already Lost Its Covert War in Syria—Now It’s Official,” 21 July 2017.
Foreign Affairs, “Washington’s Dead End in Syria,” 18 July 2017.
The Century Foundation, “Geneva Peace Talks Won’t Solve Syria—So Why Have Them?” 30 June 2017.
War on the Rocks, “The Signal in Syria’s Noise,” 30 June 2017.
The Century Foundation, “Syrian Jihadists Jeopardize Humanitarian Relief,” 1 June 2017.
The Century Foundation, “Turkish Crackdown on Humanitarians Threatens Aid to Syrians,” 3 May 2017.
War on the Rocks, “Evacuation Is America’s Moral and Strategic Imperative in Idlib,” 24 April 2017.
The Century Foundation, “Turkey’s ‘Turkey First’ Syria Policy,” 12 April 2017.
War on the Rocks, “Syria: A Journey Into the Unknown,” 10 April 2017.
Foreign Affairs, “Syria Policy After the Chemical Attacks,” 6 April 2017.
The Century Foundation, “Four Perspectives on the War in Syria, Round II” (roundtable), 30 March 2017.
The Century Foundation, “Syria’s Former al-Qaeda Affiliate Is Leading Rebels on a Suicide Mission,” 1 March 2017.
الجمهورية، “دفاعاً عن العمل الصحفي في سوريا الأسد”، 17 فبراير 2017.
Al-Jumhuriya, “The Case for Reporting from Assad’s Syria,” 6 February 2017.
The Century Foundation, “Aleppo’s Bitter Lessons,” 27 January 2017.
2016
The Century Foundation, “Syrian Opposition Politics—with a Lower-Case ‘p,’” 3 January 2016.
War on the Rocks, “This Won’t Look Like Winning: A Sensible Path for Trump’s Syria Policy,” 14 December 2016.
The Century Foundation, “A Syria Policy for Trump’s America,” 9 December 2016.
The Century Foundation, “Keeping the Lights On in Rebel Idlib,” 29 November 2016.
Foreign Policy, “Assad Will Talk, But He Won’t Negotiate,” 22 November 2016.
The Century Foundation, “What It’s Like to Meet Assad in Damascus,” 7 November 2016.
The Century Foundation, “Failed Ceasefire Bonds Syrian Rebels and U.S. Government,” 29 September 2016.
The Century Foundation, panel (with video): The Cost of Syria’s Collapse, 19 September 2016.
The Century Foundation, “Syria’s Rebels Lose a Symbolic Stronghold,” 1 September 2016.
The Century Foundation, “In Syrian Proxy War, America Can Keep Its Hands Clean or It Can Get Things Done,” 17 August 2016.
AlHurra TV, interview: Jabhat al-Nusrah and its break with al-Qaeda (Arabic), 10 August 2016.
The Century Foundation, “Al Qaeda Quits Syria in Name Only,” 29 July 2016.
The Century Foundation, “Are Syria’s Rebels at Al Qaeda’s Mercy?” 26 July 2016.
The Century Foundation, “Four Perspectives on the War in Syria” (roundtable), 26 July 2016.
The Century Foundation, “Suppose America Gave a Proxy War in Syria and Nobody Came?” 7 July 2016.
War on the Rocks, “Russia Is in Charge in Syria: How Moscow Took Control of the Battlefield and Negotiating Table,” 28 June 2016.
The Daily Beast, “The Home of Syria’s Only Real Rebels,” 17 June 2016.
RFE/RL’s “Under the Black Flag” blog, “Al-Qaeda Speaks The Language Of Syrian Sectarianism,” 9 June 2016.
War on the Rocks, “How Ahrar al-Sham Has Come to Define the Kaleidoscope of the Syrian Civil War,” 6 June 2016.
VICE News, “US-Backed Rebels Struggle to Fend Off Islamic State Offensive in Northern Syria,” 29 May 2016.
RFE/RL’s “Under the Black Flag” blog, “Al-Qaeda’s Ayman Al-Zawahri Plays Politics,” 20 May 2016.
VICE News, “‘The Regime Can’t Be Trusted’: Inside Syria’s Aleppo as a Shaky Truce Begins,” 5 May 2016.
War on the Rocks, “The Tangled Web of the Syrian Jihad,” 27 April 2016.
The Daily Beast, “One Kurdish Neighborhood in the Crossfire,” 15 April 2016.
VICE News, “Syrian Fighters Say the Ceasefire Is Getting Shakier and Shakier,” 9 April 2016.
VICE News, “Rebels Ignored the Islamic State in South Syria, and It’s Come Back to Haunt Them,” 6 April 2016.
World Politics Review, “Separating Nusra Front From Syria’s Rebels Is Easier Said Than Done,” 6 April 2016.
The Daily Beast, “Al-Qaeda’s Screwing up in Syria,” 5 April 2016.
War on the Rocks, “Are CIA-Backed Syrian Rebels Really Fighting Pentagon-Backed Syrian Rebels?” 28 March 2016.
VICE News, “The Syrian Ceasefire Is Held Together by an Unlikely Group of Frenemies — and WhatsApp,” 16 March 2016.
VICE News, “How Five Years of War Has Fractured Syria Into at Least Four States,” 15 March 2016.
World Politics Review, “PKK Links, Nusra Parallels Make Syrian Kurds a Troubling U.S. Partner,” 14 March 2016.
VICE News, “A Ceasefire Is Beginning in Syria — Except Where It Won’t,” 26 February 2016.
Syria:Direct (interview), “Sam Heller: ‘Fighting over towns that exist in name only,'” 25 February 2016.
Syria:Direct (interview), “Sam Heller on this moment in Syria: ‘Building towards a soft partition,'” 24 February 2016.
VICE News, “The Battle for Aleppo Shows That US Strategy in Syria Is in Tatters,” 16 February 2016.
World Politics Review, “Handing Syria to Russia Would Inflame Jihadism Abroad,” 12 February 2016.
VICE News, “The Syrian Regime Is Close to a Victory That Could Turn the War,” 4 February 2016.
VICE News, “Syria Peace Talks in Geneva Get Suspended Even Before Really Beginning,” 3 February 2016.
VICE News, “Faced With A Russian Onslaught, Syrian Rebels Are Calling for Help From All Muslims,” 23 January 2016.
War on the Rocks, “A Cause for All Turks: Turkey and Syria’s Turkmen Rebels,” co-authored with S.G. Grimaldi, 21 January 2016.
World Politics Review, “Why Diplomatic Talks to End Syria’s Civil War Will Fail—Again,” 19 January 2016.
VICE News, “How Assad Is Using Sieges and Hunger to Grab More of the ‘Useful Syria,'” 14 January 2016.
2015
VICE News, “Turkey Is Betting on Aleppo Rebels to Get Islamic State Out of Border Area,” 22 December 2015.
VICE News, “Syrian Rebels Took One Very Small Step Closer to Negotiating an End to the War,” 12 December 2015.
VICE News, “Syria’s Newest Rebel Army Has Its Sights on the Islamic State,” 30 November 2015.
World Politics Review, “The End of the Army of Conquest? Syrian Rebel Alliance Shows Cracks,” 9 November 2015.
War on the Rocks, “Ahrar al-Sham’s Revisionist Jihadism,” 30 September 2015.
War on the Rocks, “The Trouble with Turkey’s Favorite Syrian Islamists,” co-authored with Aaron Stein, 18 August 2015.
Jihadology: “Ahrar al-Sham Spiritual Leader: The Idol of Democracy Has Shattered,” 3 June 2015.
Jihadology, “Abdullah al-Muheisini Weighs in on Killing of Alawite Women and Children,” 12 May 2015.
Middle East Week (podcast), “Jabhat al-Nusrah: Infighting & Evolving Strategy,” 29 December 2015.
Jihadology, “Muhammad al-Amin on Ahrar al-Sham’s Evolving Relationship with Jabhat al-Nusrah and Global Jihadism,” 9 December 2015.
2014
Jihadology, “Recriminations on Social Media Shed Light on Jabhat al-Nusrah’s Inner Workings,” 4 November 2014.
Jihadology, “Jeish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar Shar’is Debate Islamic Rule Inside and Outside the ‘Islamic State,'” 25 October 2014.
World Politics Review, “For New Syrian Rebel Coalition, Results Trump Ideology,” 6 October 2014.
Foreign Policy, “Islam’s Lawyers in Arms,” 6 June 2014.
2013
Foreign Policy, “Bashar’s War,” 23 April 2013.