DOHA: The US policy towards the Syrian conflict has failed to resolve or limit the fighting, and the Islamic State (IS) is growing stronger, says a security studies expert from the US.
Dr Daniel Byman will speak on the Syrian crisis and challenging options facing US engagement in it at Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q) on October 25 evening. The lecture is titled ‘Five Bad Policy Options for Syria’.
Dr Byman is from Georgetown University’s main campus in Washington DC and is a professor of security studies programme.
The Syrian crisis has led to over 250,000 deaths and millions of refugees, with no signs the situation will improve anytime soon. The conflict has now spread to Iraq with increasing violence in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and other countries in the region, including unprecedented waves of refugees now reaching European shores.
Dr Gerd Nonneman, Dean, GU-Q, said in a statement yesterday: “It is clear that different parties’ Syria policies have failed to stop the conflict from turning in a humanitarian catastrophe built on a full-fledged civil war — a war which, moreover, has seen Sykes-Picot boundaries erased and various actors pursuing proxy wars.
“Now more than ever, insights of scholars combining deep knowledge of regional affairs and security dynamics with a grasp of real-world policymaking, are essential — both to those trying to understand this depressing landscape and those trying to formulate a more effective policy.” He said Dr Byman brings just such a combination to the table. The lecture will be held in conjunction with Brookings Doha Centre.
Dr Byman will share expertise as the director of research and a senior fellow at Centre for Middle East Policy at Brookings Institution, including a prolific writing and research career on topics related to terrorism, international security and the Middle East.
Dr Byman said: “I hope to offer rough outlines of alternative policies so we can understand options going into a new US administration.”
He is the lead faculty member for GU’s Terrorism and Counter-terrorism Massive Open Online Course, with 20,000 students enrolled.
The Peninsula
