French-Lebanese journalist Mona Alami has done extensive research on radical Islamist movements in Palestinian refugee camps, Salafi movements, Hezbollah and al-Qaida. She is a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East and a frequent commentator on political and economic issues in the Arab world, ranging from Lebanese politics to the battle for Aleppo. She’s on Twitter: @monaalami. https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/contributor/mona-alami/rss en Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs Government & Pro-Government Forces Tue, 08 May 2018 09:40:00 +0000 Mona Alami https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/community/2018/05/08/iran-israel-tensions-unlikely-to-evolve-into-conventional-warfare https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/community/2018/05/08/iran-israel-tensions-unlikely-to-evolve-into-conventional-warfare Tehran has prioritized lower cost, disruptive and asymmetric warfare since at least the Iran-Iraq war, and tensions with Israel over its buildup in Syria are unlikely to change that, writes Levant researcher and journalist Mona Alami. Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces Wed, 06 Dec 2017 09:14:35 +0000 Mona Alami https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/articles/2017/12/06/syrias-largest-militant-alliance-steps-further-away-from-al-qaida https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/articles/2017/12/06/syrias-largest-militant-alliance-steps-further-away-from-al-qaida The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham Alliance is distancing itself from hard-line al-Qaida loyalists in its latest attempt to reinvent itself as a pragmatic local player among the opposition, writes Levant researcher and journalist Mona Alami. Government & Pro-Government Forces Mon, 06 Mar 2017 09:04:50 +0000 Mona Alami https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/articles/2017/03/06/analysis-hezbollahs-highly-versatile-and-embedded-role-in-syria https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/articles/2017/03/06/analysis-hezbollahs-highly-versatile-and-embedded-role-in-syria Lebanese militia Hezbollah has vowed not to leave Syria until they have guarantees that the country will remain a key player in the Iran-led “resistance axis,” writes Levant researcher Mona Alami. Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs Fri, 24 Feb 2017 13:07:59 +0000 Mona Alami https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/community/2017/02/24/advice-for-the-syrian-opposition-make-a-deal-with-russia-to-curb-iran https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/community/2017/02/24/advice-for-the-syrian-opposition-make-a-deal-with-russia-to-curb-iran Whether at the peace talks in Astana, Geneva or elsewhere, the Syrian opposition must learn how to work with Russia to get the best deal possible in diplomatic negotiations, says Levant researcher and journalist Mona Alami. Government & Pro-Government Forces War Economy Mon, 24 Oct 2016 10:38:02 +0000 Mona Alami https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/articles/2016/10/24/assad-wants-to-rule-syria-but-economics-say-otherwise https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/articles/2016/10/24/assad-wants-to-rule-syria-but-economics-say-otherwise President Bashar al-Assad needs more than a military victory to retake control of the whole of Syria. The country’s devastated economy will prevent him from achieving a total victory, writes Middle East expert Mona Alami. Diplomacy & Foreign Affairs Government & Pro-Government Forces Mon, 03 Oct 2016 08:21:07 +0000 Mona Alami https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/community/2016/10/03/obama-gives-free-rein-to-assad-and-putin https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/community/2016/10/03/obama-gives-free-rein-to-assad-and-putin Despite U.S. officials’ condemnation of devastating violence in Aleppo, the White House has allowed the Syrian and Russian governments to continue their scorched-earth policy in Syria’s largest city, writes the Atlantic Council’s Mona Alami. Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces Wed, 02 Dec 2015 00:00:00 +0000 Mona Alami https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/articles/2015/12/02/is-the-islamic-state-gaining-ground-in-lebanon https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/articles/2015/12/02/is-the-islamic-state-gaining-ground-in-lebanon Up until this month’s double suicide bombing in Beirut, there had been a relative lull in spillover violence from Syria’s civil war across the border. But as ISIS steadily supplants Islamist extremist groups in Lebanon with strong ties to rebel factions fighting in Syria, the lull in bloodshed might not return soon.