Charles ListerVerified account

@Charles_Lister

Senior Fellow & Director of at . Author of . Following , armed groups, , & T/RT≠ endorsement.

Washington, DC
mei.edu/profile/charle…
Joined January 2012
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  1. Pinned Tweet
    Jul 12

    " Hasn't Won Anything" - My latest in underlines that 8yrs of brutal war has left with nothing but a chronically violent and chaotic failed state. Read here:

    31 replies 97 retweets 167 likes
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  2. 9 minutes ago

    : fails to mention the 's recruitment of former, local fighters. He also fails to mention there's been one - albeit, just one - "green on blue" attack in -- in 2018, a fighter shot a U.S. soldier in the back (for helping civilians)

    2 retweets 2 likes
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  3. 16 minutes ago

    I suspect the delay of any OFAC waiver to the might have something to do with its well-known links to a U.S. designated terrorist organization? Allowing the to "hire American companies" to work in & institutionally "spend money" in the U.S. is tricky, legally.

    "Treasury Department bureaucrats risk jumpstarting Islamic State resurgence" (my latest in ):
    1 reply 2 likes
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  4. Retweeted
    Jul 13

    After years of bloody warfare, it’s time to recognize what the Syrian dictator rules over: a chronically violent and chaotic failed state. (By )

    2 replies 12 retweets 28 likes
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  5. Retweeted
    Jul 14

    “The root causes that gave way to the uprising in 2011 remain in place-most are now even worse.” A good piece by via

    8 retweets 11 likes
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  6. Retweeted
    Jul 15

    Syrian President Bashar al-Assad hasn’t won anything, writes.

    4 replies 37 retweets 75 likes
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  7. Retweeted
    Jul 14

    .: "An honest discussion of Syria needs to acknowledge just how unstable the situation there remains—and how the regime’s very survival guarantees chaos, instability, and conflict for many years to come."

    10 retweets 16 likes
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  8. Retweeted
    Jul 13

    Bang-on assessment of Syria today by , who catalogues the vast array of existing (and mostly worsening) issues faced by Assad's feeble govt. A must-read if you've been bombarded by the many faecile texts on rehabilitating the regime lately.

    3 replies 53 retweets 93 likes
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  9. 3 hours ago

    Leaving now might seem a pragmatic move to (a) cut our losses or (b) avoid a "forever war," but doing so *now* guarantees: 1) Long-term instability 2) Jihadist survival 3) consolidation 4) victory + A future inability to go back, if [inevitably] we need to. 10/10

    6 replies 2 retweets 4 likes
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  10. 3 hours ago

    The US *does* have interests in & we ought to know by now how instability there can so dramatically effect the world. The US *does* have the potential to achieve [more] realistic policy goals in , but not amid a "withdrawal" that erodes credibility & leverage. 9/10

    1 reply 5 likes
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  11. 3 hours ago

    Take one example: rebuilding 's 2 million destroyed homes would require a decade of annual imports: - 25m tons of cement - 5m tons of iron hasn't the money, or infrastructure. The water needed to mix the concrete alone makes this task literally impossible. 8/10

    2 replies 1 retweet 3 likes
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  12. 3 hours ago

    reconstruction is a fantasy - the cost may reach $780bn by 2021. If equalled in getting the world's highest reconstruction aid, it'd take 50+ yrs to rebuild - that's conditional upon having *no corruption & efficient spending* (i.e. impossible). 7/10

    4 replies 4 retweets 3 likes
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  13. 3 hours ago

    Meanwhile, 's economy is crippled & the country is largely destroyed. regime corruption, warlordism & mismanagement are feeding rising discontent in loyalist areas. Sanctions are exacerbating these conditions - and none of this looks set to improve, at all. 6/10

    1 reply 2 retweets 1 like
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  14. 3 hours ago

    Elsewhere in , "reconciliation" deals are crumbling & instability rising. In the south, 250+ attacks have been recorded since June - most attributed to "resistance forces." Fledgling insurgencies are also visible in , & in the /. 5/10

    1 reply 3 retweets 3 likes
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  15. 3 hours ago

    West of the , remains a real danger - but 's regime has publicly disinvested in countering , choosing a policy of containment in order to prioritize the [now failing] offensive. & are filling the vacuum - taking advantage. 4/10

    1 reply 4 retweets 3 likes
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  16. 3 hours ago

    In , is Remaining, but Not Expanding [Yet]. ~370 attacks have hit east since March - most attributed to . U.S *is* withdrawing & allied troop levels look set to be insufficient to (1) defeat , (2) train & (3) contain //. 3/10

    1 reply 4 retweets 7 likes
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  17. 3 hours ago

    The zone contains ~3million people, ~60K of whom are fighters (~50% mainstream; 50% jihadi). is emerging as de facto governor. is reverting to 's vanguard model. I'm told external attack plotting is being actively considered - very dangerous. 2/10

    1 reply 4 retweets 5 likes
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  18. 3 hours ago

    After nearly 3 months of hostilities, has entirely failed in , & - only 1% territory retaken. Without & its allies on the ground, looks incapable of expanding further; is not enough. Status quo -> "Gazafication" of . 1/10

    1 reply 12 retweets 6 likes
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  19. 3 hours ago

    Contrary to many claims, *hasn't* won anything in ; he's merely survived through terror & blood. - Remaining opposition holdouts look intractable. - More & more signs of instability. - Reconciliation is crumbling. - , & more remain.

    1 reply 9 retweets 3 likes
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  20. 3 hours ago

    As hostilities continue & differences with loyalists re-emerge/sharpen, top leadership ('s circle) is becoming increasingly clear in punishing acts of public dissent. What's driving this? The need to remain [within the periphery] of 's protection.

    2 retweets 3 likes
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