What Comes Next in Syria?

With President Trump’s strikes on Assad’s regime, the Syrian civil war is at the forefront of the global political stage. But what happens when the strikes are over?

A Syrian man looks at a building fire following regime bombardment in Douma, one of the few remaining rebel-held pockets in Eastern Ghouta, on the outskirts of Damascus on March 23. (Hamza al-Ajweh/AFP/Getty Images)
A Syrian man looks at a building fire following regime bombardment in Douma, one of the few remaining rebel-held pockets in Eastern Ghouta, on the outskirts of Damascus on March 23. (Hamza al-Ajweh/AFP/Getty Images)
A Syrian man looks at a building fire following regime bombardment in Douma, one of the few remaining rebel-held pockets in Eastern Ghouta, on the outskirts of Damascus on March 23. (Hamza al-Ajweh/AFP/Getty Images)

On April 7, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime launched yet another suspected chemical attack. Five hundred people in Douma showed symptoms consistent with exposure to chemical weapons, including burning eyes and white foam coming from their mouths and nostrils.

On April 7, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime launched yet another suspected chemical attack. Five hundred people in Douma showed symptoms consistent with exposure to chemical weapons, including burning eyes and white foam coming from their mouths and nostrils.

After calling Assad an “animal” and warning on Twitter that missiles will be coming “nice and new and ‘smart,’” U.S. President Donald Trump followed through on his threat on the evening of Friday, April 13. With France and the United Kingdom, the United States launched strikes on three Syrian regime targets connected to the chemical weapons program. What happens next?

Joining us on The E.R. today is an expert on all things Syria, Andrew Tabler. Tabler is the Martin J. Gross fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and the author of the book In the Lion’s Den: An Eyewitness Account of Washington’s Battle with Syria. Follow him on Twitter: @Andrewtabler

Sasha Polakow-Suransky is a deputy editor at Foreign Policy. He is the author of Go Back to Where You Came From: The Backlash Against Immigration and the Fate of Western Democracy and The Unspoken Alliance: Israel’s Secret Relationship with Apartheid South Africa. Follow him on Twitter: @sasha_p_s

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