| Foreign Affairs | America Can Best Help Syria by Getting Out | Robert S. Ford
Syria’s 13-year civil war ended abruptly in December, when rebels belonging to the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham swept south from their bastions in the northwest of the country, precipitating the fall of the government of President Bashar al-Assad. In a matter of weeks, a regime that had lasted six decades came to an end. HTS, helmed by the pragmatic Ahmed al-Shara, leads the interim Syrian government and is poised to head a transitional government that will be unveiled in the spring. It remains uncertain how Shara will unite a diverse and fractious country, whether he will rein in hard-line elements of HTS, and whether he will win the support of other Syrian communities should he move in a more moderate and inclusive direction.
The Guardian | Is Europe misunderstanding Trump’s position on Ukraine? | Stephen Wertheim A high-stakes transatlantic miscommunication is unfolding, with the potential to produce far worse consequences than the Oval Office contretemps between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Responsible Statecraft | Is it 'beautiful'? Sizing up Trump foreign policy in one speech | Kelley Beaucar Vlahos
He boasted of U.S. withdrawal from a number of what he called “unfair” and “corrupt” multilateral institutions like the World Health Organization and the Paris Climate Accord. He said he would deliver the “greatest economy in history” and promised that Republicans would make good on extending his tax cuts.
But in comparison his message on the foreign affairs front was short and sweet: “peace.” Peace in the Middle East and peace in Ukraine. How he plans to get there is fodder for many future questions and analyses, but for last night’s purposes, he made it all sound quite simple.
Foreign Policy | Containment Can’t Win the U.S.-China Tech Race Alone | Stefanie Kam Li Yee As U.S.-China tech competition heats up, Washington is slowly recognizing that gaining a first-mover advantage in critical technologies may be more vital than protecting its existing edges. At present, the U.S. national strategy aims to slow down its competitors and look to the effectiveness of stronger export controls, stricter enforcement, and measures to block strategic transfers to rivals. Yet as supply chains become more diverse and complex, the range of options to evade such sanctions grows—and the role of third-party intermediaries becomes more critical. | 
