Reader, answer me this: what is the world’s worst crisis? Yemen? Syria? The Democratic Republic of Congo? South Sudan? That question may not be any easier to answer even if there are accompanying descriptors: the worst famine since the Second World War; the worst refugee crisis since Rwanda; the worst humanitarian crisis in 50 years.

An America Abroad program about fragile states like Syria. An exploration of why this instability happens, how it affects the people who live there, and the best way to get them back on track.

President Donald Trump surprised his top aides last week when he said he wanted U.S. troops out of Syria “very soon.” His subsequent silence -- and pushback from key advisers -- suggests he won’t get that wish. And it won’t be the first time.

As Pakistan, Afghanistan and U.S. officials meet to discuss peace efforts, regional experts are cautioning such a plan would remain elusive until Pakistan and India agree to ease their proxy war that continues to play out in neighboring Afghanistan.

Building peaceful relationships can involve work down the hall or across the world, as a class at Eastside High School discussed on Thursday. And a day after Americans commemorated the 50th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., the “apostle of nonviolence,” Megan Chabalowski, interim director of...

President Trump on Tuesday repeated his desire to quickly “get out” of Syria, even as his top commander for the Middle East outlined the need for an ongoing military presence there. “A lot of very good military progress has been made over the last couple of years, but the hard part, I think, is in front of us,” said Gen. Joseph L. Votel, head of...

The commander-in-chief and his national security team are sending mixed signals on U.S. policy in Syria. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said: “The primary mission in terms of that was getting rid of ISIS. We’ve almost completed that mission, and we’ll be making a decision very quickly, in coordination with others in the area, as to what we’ll do…I want to get out, I want to bring our troops back home.”