James Jeffrey is chair of the Middle East program at the Wilson Center. He served as U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Turkey, and Albania; special envoy to Syria; and deputy national security advisor.
Articles by
James Jeffrey
A member of the Syrian Democratic Forces and a U.S. soldier stand beside each other looking out over a field with smoke in the distance.
A member of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), made up of an alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters, monitors in the town of Tabqa, about 55 kilometres (35 miles) west of Raqa city, on April 30, 2017, as they advance in their battle for the Islamic State group's stronghold.
US-backed fighters have captured 80 percent of Syria's Tabqa from the Islamic State group, a monitor said on May 1, a week after they first entered the town. / AFP PHOTO / DELIL SOULEIMAN (Photo credit should read DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 1: (AFP OUT) Rex Tillerson attends a ceremony at which he was sworn in as 69th U.S. secretary of state in the Oval Office of the White House on February 1, 2017 in Washington, DC. Tillerson was confirmed by the U.S. Senate earlier in the day in a 56-43 vote. (Photo by Michael Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images)
US President Barack Obama speaks following a National Security Council meeting on the Islamic State at the Department of Treasury in Washington, DC, June 14, 2016.
US President Barack Obama on June 14 said the Islamic State group was losing ground in Iraq and Syria, and that the number of foreign fighters joining the extremists was plummeting. "ISIL lost nearly half of the populated territory it had in Iraq and it will lose more. ISIL continues to lose ground in Syria as well," Obama said after a meeting of the National Security Council on the fight against the jihadist group. "In short, our coalition continues to be on offense. ISIL is on defense," Obama said, using an alternate acronym for the group.
/ AFP / SAUL LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)
epa01864058 A handout picture released by Iraqi Prime Minister Office shows US Vice President Joe Biden (L) and Iraqi Prime Minsietr Nouri al-Maliki (R) during a press conference after their meeting, in Baghdad, Iraq on 16 September 2009. / HANDOUT
WASHINGTON, USA - OCTOBER 2: US President Barak Obama listens as Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announces his resignation during a press conference at the White House in Washington, USA on October 2, 2015. During the press conference President Obama announced the resignation of Arne Duncan as Secretary of Education and appointed John King as his temporary replacement. He also answered question on gun control, Russia, and the situation in Syria. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
JERUSALEM , ISRAEL- MARCH 20: U.S. President Barack Obama (L) greets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a press conference on March 20, 2013 in Jerusalem, Israel. This is Obama's first visit as President to the region, and his itinerary will include meetings with the Palestinian and Israeli leaders as well as a visit to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. (Photo by Heidi Levine-Pool/Getty Images)
