Kamal Alam

Kamal Alam is a Syrian military analyst and Fellow for Syrian Affairs at The Institute for Statecraft, and has been a visiting lecturer at several military academies and staff colleges in the Middle East, Britain and Pakistan. He has previously worked at the Aspen Institute in Berlin. He also advises various Damascus-based family offices. His PhD examines the geopolitics of Afghanistan & the Arab world.

Damascus must be part of the solution

John Kerry has gone from calling Bashar a dear friend to a brutal dictator to thanking him for working with America to wipe out Syria's chemical stockpile, to wanting to talk. But everything else has failed.

By Kamal Alam

/ 30 Mar 2015

There is no such thing as a moderate Syrian opposition

The Syrian Arab Army has multiple charities that go house to house looking after its men in uniform.

By Kamal Alam

/ 13 Feb 2015

Only the Syrian Army is able to fight ISIL: so let’s back it

It must be now be clear to western defence chiefs that there is only one credible fighting force on the ground capable of fighting ISIL and that is the Syrian military.

By Kamal Alam

/ 17 Nov 2014

Pax Syriana: neither vanquished, nor all-conquering

Why is the Syrian Army, against all predictions, winning the war in Syria? One has to delve into the history of the Syrian state since independence to understand how the military shaped the state and learned to divide its opponents.

By Kamal Alam

/ 30 Jun 2014

Soon, finally, a new leader of Pakistan's military

Why is it taking so long for Pakistan to choose a new Chief of Army Staff - and who will it be? An insight into the politics and personalities of the brass in the running, and how the US and other allies will react.

By Kamal Alam

/ 26 Nov 2013