The New York Times – In a recent speech, Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad appeared to reject humanitarian relief and all attempts to peacefully end the civil war raging in the country. Past ICWA Fellow Andrew Tabler, now a Syria expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, was the sole analyst quoted in David E. Sanger and Rick Gladstone’s article covering the speech, which was Assad’s first major public address since the breakdown of mediation talks in Geneva in April. “It’s pretty clear Assad’s defiance and rigidity at the negotiating table continues to increase after the Russian intervention,” Tabler said.  To read the full article and for more of Tabler’s insights, visit the New York Times.