This talk, titled “How can a Regional Accord Help End the War in Syria?” was delivered in May 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark. While the presentation hasn’t been widely viewed, Nir Rosen’s 55-page written findings were circulated among U.S. government policy officials at the time. Foreign Policy Magazine featured Rosen’s proposal for a locally and regionally driven peace in an article, “Re-writing Syria’s War.”
The still unpublished plan was considered at the White House in 2014, but never enacted. It was (contrary to the author’s desire) leaked widely among policy wonks in D.C.
Rosen’s Copenhagen talk remains one of the best critiques of media coverage of Syria. His proximity to the war – literally spending 5 years on the front lines of the conflict – has made him perhaps the most authoritative voice on Syria today.
He stopped publishing as a journalist a few years ago upon taking a job with an international NGO which specializes in dialogue and reconciliation in the Middle East. He remains on the front lines to this day.
Rosen will one day emerge as a public voice once again. It’s likely we will next hear from him when he publishes the definitive detailed history of the Syrian war. When that book (hopefully) comes, nothing will rival it.
