TABLET MAG
by Ofir Haivry and Yoram Hazony
July 7, 2015

The creation of a well-armed, autonomous, and perhaps ultimately independent Druze region in southern Syria may be the West’s best chance at stemming the spread of radical Islamism

As the Syrian state unravels, the United States and other Western powers are finding it increasingly difficult to see how they can stem the rise of jihadist organizations like al-Qaida and the Islamic State (IS), while limiting the unfolding humanitarian and security disaster that has left more than 200,000 dead and made refugees of close to 10 million people so far. The extent of the current U.S. predicament in Syria has been made clear by the Defense Department, which on June 18 reported that attempts to recruit a small rebel force of 5,000 fighters from the largely Sunni Arab population of Syria that would be both “moderate” and willing to devote itself to fighting IS continue to falter. After months of effort, no more than “100 to 200” such individuals willing to join the U.S. effort have been identified. READ MORE