Amal Mudallali

Amal Mudallali is a senior scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. She has advised the late Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri and continues in this capacity with former prime minister Saad Hariri.

Syria Pulse | Sep 13, 2012

Why Lebanon's Taif Accord Is No Road Map for Syria

Syria is not Lebanon, and the Lebanese Taif Accord shouldn't be a model for a solution to the crisis there, even if the US and Russia back such a sectarian-power-sharing plan, writes Amal Mudallali. The Lebanese arrived at that answer when both sides were convinced they couldn't win the war. In Syria, both sides are convinced they're winning.

A boy sits at his parents' house, damaged by shelling by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, in Talbiseh, near Homs August 31, 2012. Picture taken August 31, 2012. REUTERS/Shaam News Network/Handout (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

Syria Pulse | Jul 26, 2012

Russia's Fear of Radical Islam Drives Its Support for Assad

It was no coincidence that Russia vetoed a Security Council resolution on Syria just hours after twin attacks on moderate Muslim officials in a central Russian republic last week, writes Amal Mudallali. Russia does not see itself as an ally of Assad, but as a target, like him, of an extremist Salafist terror plot to destabilize Russia.