That the Biden administration delivered a strategy for countering the Syrian narco-trade is a welcome development. But absent due pressure on Damascus, the strategy will unlikely have any real effect.

A newly released US State Department strategy asserts that joint defence programmes in the region were key to success in curbing the Captagon drug trade

Not enough is known about the Captagon trade — its history, role in the Levant, and impact on regional geopolitics. Al Majalla gives a detailed background about the rise of this narcotic drug.

The joint announcement acknowledges the trade's negative impact on the security, health, and political landscape of the region