Frontline Syria

David L. Phillips is Director of the Program on Peace-building and Human Rights at Columbia University’s Institute for the Study of Human Rights. He served as a Senior Adviser and Foreign Affairs Expert to the US Department of State during the administrations of Presidents Obama, Bush and Clinton. Phillips also served as a Senior Adviser to the UN Secretariat. He was a Visiting Scholar with Harvard University's Center for Middle East Studies and worked with the Council on Foreign Relations. He has also testified on regional issues before the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, the British House of Commons, the French Senate and the European Parliament.

• Abbreviations and AcronymsGlossary of PersonalitiesTimeline of Critical EventsAbout the AuthorIntroductionPart I: Legacy of Repression1.Hama Rules2.The Damascus Spring3.Cradle of the RevolutionPart II: Radicalization4.The Free Syrian Army5.Security Assistance6.Displacement Crisis7.The Geneva Peace ProcessPart III: International Stakeholders8.Russia9.The Shiite Crescent10.TurkeyPart IV: Minorities and Women11.Kurds12.Christians and Armenians13.Women14.AlawitesPart V: Grinding War15.Idlib16.Diminished America17.UN Mediation18.BetrayalEpilogueAnnex

The Syrian war will go down as the tragedy of a generation, and will have repercussions in the region for years to come. How did a failed revolution on the heels of the Arab Spring turn to one of the bloodiest conflicts of the century? And how could the international community have stood by with so little regard from human life? David Phillips, one of the most respected experts in the field, was a first-hand witness, speaking to many of the regional actors in his role as a conflict analyst. In this important book, he unravels the conflict from ground zero. An urgent read for anyone who wants to understand how and why we failed Syria.