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Today the American Security Project hosted an event titled, “Inside Aleppo: New Tools for Understanding the Syrian Conflict“, with Dr. David Kilcullen and Mr. Nate Rosenblatt of Caerus Associates, as well as Matt McNabb, CEO of First Mile Geo.

David Kilcullen

The event circulated around the crucial and timely findings on what may be the most detailed, publicly available assessment of the ongoing conflict in Syria to date. The findings were based on four months of in-depth, time-series research from within Aleppo; Syria’s largest, most diverse, and most economically relevant city.

The uniqueness of the report lies in its understanding of the complex dynamics occurring on the ground. This was made possible with the use of First Mile Geo’s highly innovative technologies leveraged for collecting, visualizing, and analyzing high-fidelity data that produced a rich-interactive picture of the humanitarian, security, and political crisis in Aleppo.

From the onset, Kilcullen stated the findings were not necessarily a prescription for policy-makers, but rather to provide an insightful description of the “humanitarian tragedy” from a hyper-localized-level. Often times, when policy-makers are confronted with a conflict, their theory drives data resulting in ill-advised planning, wasted resources, and a further exacerbation of the existing situation for local populations. Caerus’ method was to enable the data to drive the theory by avoiding general-claims of the conflict, and using locals on the ground in Aleppo to collect the information. The result was a more nuanced look at the diversity and flux of demographics, infrastructure, and food transit supplies, than previously noted in the press.

As the conflict in Syria grows more and more complex day-by-day, the impact of these findings on policy-makers are uncertain. What is certain, however, is that the method of collection, the analysis, and the sheer rigor for objectivity presented in the report by Caerus Associates may be a watershed moment in the field of conflict-resolution.

For the full report, click here: Mapping the Conflict in Aleppo, Syria

Click the podcast symbol for an audio recording of the event:

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