Frontline Syria

Reviews / Votes

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. A candid, well-informed 'after action report' on how the Arab Spring turned to winter in Syria and the consequences of failed international diplomacy. In this recounting of the Syrian civil war, David Phillips recalls the history of repression in Syria and explains how the peaceful protest movement in 2011 metastasized into a violent insurgency dominated by militants and extremists. He is not sparing in his criticism of American mistakes either. This book also presents a detailed, sympathetic view of the aspirations of Syrians themselves, most notably Kurds, Christians, the displaced, and Syrian women who will have a vital role in future Syrian reconciliation. While the full toll of human suffering may never be known, the people of Syria and the world must know more about one of the most horrifying outgrowths of the Arab Spring. Phillips provides an informed and compassionate survey of the Syrian civil war and the international meddling that has exacerbated the disaster. Frontline Syria is truly a 'must-read' for any student of the catastrophe that is modern Syria...as well as the bipartisan fecklessness of American foreign policy. With an intense combination of scholarly rigor and the objective compassion that comes from his own personal experiences, David Phillips narrates the terrifying descent of Syria from a stable if prosaic backwater to that of a Hobbesian state of nature. From the 'Red Lines' that weren't to the abandonment of its Kurdish allies, his searing insights and conclusions also provide jarring punctuation for the United States' declining moral and political leadership, and the implications of this tragic abdication for the Middle East and beyond. Syria's once promising revolution failed, plunging the country into chaos and anarchy. Drawing on his decades of experience as an American diplomat, peacemaker and discreet back-channel, David Phillips explores what went wrong. While many share the blame, he finds particular fault in the US government's response for making promises it never intended to keep, leaving Syrian activists to die, and thereby opening the gates of Hell to one of the worst humanitarian disasters in modern history.