Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa signed a major integration agreement with the leader of the Kurdish forces in Syria on Monday, set to take place by the end of the year.
The agreement with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) will ensure “the rights of all Syrians in representation and participation in the political process and all state institutions based on competence, regardless of their religious and ethnic backgrounds,” according to Shaara.
Under the agreement, Syria&#8217;s Kurdish community — primarily in the east — will be officially recognized as part of the state, and citizenship will be granted to tens of thousands previously denied by Assad, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/10/middleeast/kurdish-syria-sdf-deal-intl-latam/index.html">according</a> to CNN. The agreement safeguards Kurdish rights, overturning Assad&#8217;s restrictions that banned the Kurdish language in schools and prohibited Kurdish holidays.
Kurdish institutions in northeastern Syria will be integrated into the Syrian state, and displaced Kurds will be allowed to return to their homes under state protection, under the agreement. The Kurds also agreed to support the Syrian state in combating any remnants of Assad&#8217;s regime and other threats to its security, <a href="https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/100320251" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported Kurdish outlet Rudaw</a>.
The agreement comes after militants aligned with Shaara committed brutal revenge killings on members of the Alawite minority — a Shia-offshoot aligned with deposed former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad — who attacked the new regime’s security forces at checkpoints last week. <a href="https://www.syriahr.com/en/357483/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to</a> the United Kingdom-based watchdog, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), at least 973 civilians have been killed including women and children. An additional 300 members of government security forces and 148 Assad-aligned militants were reportedly killed in the clashes as well.
Shaara launched a “fact-finding committee” into the killings and called for “national unity and domestic peace” on Sunday during a speech broadcast from a mosque near his childhood neighborhood in Damascus.
Shaara has called for all armed factions, including the SDF, to integrate into the Syrian army after he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/who-is-syrian-rebel-leader-mohammad-al-jolani" target="_blank" rel="noopener">toppled Assad</a> with his U.S.-designated terrorist organization, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), in December. Once affiliated with Al-Qaeda and ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Shaara had a $10 million <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c07gv3j818ko" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FBI bounty</a> for almost a decade before it was lifted in 2024.
The People’s Protection Units (YPG), a key U.S.-backed Kurdish faction in the SDF, requested that a special unit be created in the Syrian Army as a condition to joining, but Shaara rejected the demand, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/10/middleeast/kurdish-syria-sdf-deal-intl-latam/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN reported</a>.
Shaara signed the agreement with SDF General Commander Mazloum Abdi, <a href="https://x.com/MazloumAbdi/status/1899218509319565416" target="_blank" rel="noopener">who called</a> the agreement on X “a real opportunity to build a new Syria that embraces all its components and ensures good neighborliness.”
Crowds reportedly took to the streets of major cities in Syria to applaud the deal.
Bafel Talabani, leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in Iraq, called the deal an “important and positive step toward strengthening coexistence and partnership in the new Syria,” <a href="https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/110320251" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported Rudaw</a>.
“As always, I fully support the efforts of my brother, Mazloum Abdi, to promote peace and stability in the region,” Talabani added.
The leader of Iraq’s other major Kurdish political party, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), called the agreement “historic” and “an important step toward shaping Syria’s future.”
Diliman Abdulkader, the founder of American Friends of Kurdistan, a Washington D.C.-based advocacy organization working to strengthen U.S.-Kurdish relations, said he disagrees with the deal, but realizes its political necessity.
“The Kurds remain to be kingmakers when it comes to the future of Syria,” Abdulkader posted to X. “Syria will not remain whole without their demands being part of the conversation and the fact that they must have a seat at the table.”
He added that the Kurds sacrificed more than 15,000 lives in the fight against ISIS and continue to be the jailers of ISIS terrorists.
“The Kurds have gone above and beyond despite their unfortunate circumstance,” he wrote.
Abdulkader said he believes the Kurds are hoping the deal will lead to decentralization and ensure that northeast Syria — where they govern — will remain a safe haven.
“So, let this agreement play out. Give it time,” he wrote.
Shaara has still yet to make a deal with the Druze minority community in the south of the country. Israel — which has a sizable Druze community — <a href="https://www.jns.org/idf-prepares-to-defend-druze-suburb-of-damascus-against-syrian-regime/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vowed to protect</a> them from any harm.
<a href="https://greekcitytimes.com/2025/03/08/syria-turkey-backed-jihadists/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to the Greek City Times</a>, some Christians were killed, including two Antiochian Greeks, Tony Petrus and his son, Fadi. The outlet also reported that a Christian icon on Tartous was desecrated. The heads of Syria’s Christian Churches released <a href="https://orthodoxtimes.com/patriarchs-of-syria-condemn-escalating-violence-call-for-peace-and-national-reconciliation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a joint statement</a> last week condemning the bloodshed and urging national reconciliation.

GlthGfHWEAAw-yY

Syria’s President Signs Agreement With Kurdish Leader Following Slaughter Of Minorities

Bashar Assad

Kurds

Syria

Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa called for “national unity and domestic peace” after militants aligned with the president, brutally slaughtering hundreds of minorities on Syria&#8217;s coastal areas.
“We have to preserve national unity and domestic peace; we can live together,” Sharaa said on Sunday during a speech broadcast from a mosque near his childhood neighborhood in Damascus.
Al-Sharaa said that Syria has the &#8220;characteristics for survival” and what is “currently happening in Syria is within the expected challenges.”
The Syrian leader also announced the launch of a “fact-finding committee” into the murders and said “anyone involved in civilian bloodshed” would be held accountable.
The fighting began on Thursday after members of the Alawite minority — a Shia-offshoot aligned with deposed former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad — launched attacks on the new regime’s security forces at checkpoints.
Assad was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/who-is-syrian-rebel-leader-mohammad-al-jolani" target="_blank" rel="noopener">toppled by al-Shaara</a> and his U.S.-designated terrorist organization, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), in December. Once affiliated with Al-Qaeda and ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, al-Shaara had a $10 million <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c07gv3j818ko" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FBI bounty</a> for almost a decade before being lifted in 2024.
In retaliation, Sharaa-aligned fighters launched brutal revenge killings, some of which were recorded and posted online. <a href="https://www.syriahr.com/en/357483/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to</a> the United Kingdom-based watchdog, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), women and children were killed and residents of the predominantly Alawite neighborhood of al-Ramlah in the coastal city of Jabalah reported homes being burned and looted.
At least 745 Alawite civilians have been killed in the Syrian port cities of Latakia and Tartous, according to SOHR. An additional 300 members of government security forces and 148 Assad-aligned militants were reportedly killed in the clashes as well.
Syrian authorities blamed the executions on unruly militias who came to help the security forces, according to the Times of Israel. Syrian Kurdish armed groups blamed some of the executions of civilians on Turkish-backed Islamist factions, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/syrias-sharaa-says-developments-within-expected-challenges-clashes-continue-arab-2025-03-09/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reuters reported</a>.
<a href="https://greekcitytimes.com/2025/03/08/syria-turkey-backed-jihadists/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to the Greek City Times</a>, some Christians were killed, including two Antiochian Greeks, Tony Petrus and his son, Fadi. The outlet also reported that a Christian icon on Tartous was desecrated. The heads of Syria’s Christian Churches released <a href="https://orthodoxtimes.com/patriarchs-of-syria-condemn-escalating-violence-call-for-peace-and-national-reconciliation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a joint statement</a> last week condemning the bloodshed and urging national reconciliation.
“Homes have been violated, their sanctity disregarded, and properties looted — scenes that starkly reflect the immense suffering endured by the Syrian people,” the Patriarchs said. “We strongly condemn any act that threatens civil peace and denounce the massacres targeting innocent civilians. These horrific acts stand in stark opposition to all human and moral values,” they stated.
Following al-Sharaa’s calls, fighting erupted again at Syria’s Banias gas power plant between Syria’s new security forces and “remnants of the former regime,&#8221; <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/9/syrias-president-calls-for-peace-calm-amid-brutal-clashes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> the state-run Syrian news agency SANA. SOHR reported that Sharaa-allied gunmen stormed a town in the Baniyas countryside where they looted and set fire to homes.
Following the violence, the delivery of food and basic goods to the areas has been suspended, according to SOHR. SOHR <a href="https://www.syriahr.com/en/357485/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">also reported</a> that residents complained about interruption of electricity and drinking water and the suspension of work at bread bakeries.
The clashes have slowed following Syrian security forces surrounding an estimated 5,000 pro-Assad insurgents hiding in mountainous areas, <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/syrian-leader-al-sharaa-calls-for-peace-as-country-sees-deadliest-violence-in-years/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported the Times of Israel</a>.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the murders by “radical Islamic terrorists, including foreign jihadis” in a <a href="https://www.state.gov/the-escalation-of-fighting-and-civilian-deaths-in-syria/">statement</a> on Sunday.
“The United States stands with Syria’s religious and ethnic minorities, including its Christian, Druze, Alawite, and Kurdish communities, and offers its condolences to the victims and their families,” Rubio said. “Syria’s interim authorities must hold the perpetrators of these massacres against Syria’s minority communities accountable.”
The leader of a rebel pseudo-government in northwestern Syria, al-Shaara has been accused of grave human rights violations and has <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/syrias-new-leaders-turn-islamic-law-effort-rebuild-assads-police-2025-01-23/">reported plans</a> to impose strict sharia law in the country. But he’s also sought to reinvent himself as a moderate force for a tolerant Syria.
He has repeatedly denied that he was a terrorist, including in a PBS interview where he said “it’s a political label that carries no truth or credibility.”
While ruling Idlib province before taking all of Syria, al-Shaara tried to appeal to various minority communities, including the Druze and the Kurds. During a CNN interview, al-Shaara acknowledged that minority groups such as Christians have suffered from jihadist groups during the Syrian civil war, but said they will live safely under the new regime.
“There were some violations against [minorities] by certain individuals during periods of chaos, but we addressed these issues,” al-Jolani said. “No one has the right to erase another group. These sects have coexisted in this region for hundreds of years, and no one has the right to eliminate them.”
Despite his promises to minorities, al-Shaara’s former ties to ISIS and prominent terrorists in the region known for persecuting minorities caused distrust, even before the recent clashes.

National Conference Talks Convene In Damascus

Syria’s Jihadist President Calls For Peace As Aligned Forces Slaughter Minorities

Christians

Islamic Jihad

With the fall of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, the search for an American journalist who has been imprisoned for over 12 years has intensified.
Austin Tice, 43, was detained at a checkpoint while traveling from a suburb of Damascus to Lebanon in 2012. He was working as a freelance journalist for various publications including The Washington Post. A month after his capture, he appeared in a video sent to his family showing him with armed men, titled “Austin Tice is Alive.” It included no other information. It is believed that Tice escaped weeks after he was kidnapped but was recaptured by Syrian intelligence.
The toppling of Assad created new hope in the efforts to find Tice, as one of the rebels&#8217; first priorities was to break into Syria’s prisons and release political prisoners.
Western journalists and NGO workers are inspecting prisons, Israel is refraining from bombing areas where Tice may be, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he will get involved in the effort to find Tice, who U.S. intelligence officials believe is alive.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is currently offering a <a href="https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/kidnap/austin-bennett-tice" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$1 million reward</a> for information leading to Tice’s return home.
The U.S. government is operating under the belief that Tice is alive and was imprisoned by the Assad regime in one of its detention centers, <a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/12/18/netanyahu-austin-tice-israel-syria" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Axios reported</a>. Tice’s parents — who have been constantly fighting for his release — said they received assurances he is alive.
One prisoner, an American, appeared in initial videos following his release lying on a mattress, sparking speculation that he might be Tice, until it was later confirmed that he was Travis Timmerman of Missouri. <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/mother-american-journalist-imprisoned-syria-sees-hope-following-news-travis-timmermans-release" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mrs. Tice said</a> seeing Timmerman’s release felt “like a rehearsal” for her son’s future release.
&#8220;It was almost like having a rehearsal &#8230; an inkling of what it&#8217;s really going to feel like when it is Austin walking free,&#8221; she told NBC television&#8217;s &#8220;Meet the Press.”
<div id="attachment_847061" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-847061" class="size-large wp-image-847061" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/GettyImages-2150698068-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/GettyImages-2150698068-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/GettyImages-2150698068-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/GettyImages-2150698068-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/GettyImages-2150698068-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/GettyImages-2150698068-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/GettyImages-2150698068-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/GettyImages-2150698068-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Debra Tice (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)</div>
The rebel group — which is designated as a terrorist organization — led by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/who-is-syrian-rebel-leader-mohammad-al-jolani" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mohammad al-Jolani</a> (Ahmed Hussein al-Shara), has reportedly agreed to cooperate with the U.S. government in the search for Tice. Al-Jolani’s group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, has been given a list of former Syrian officials who may have knowledge about Tice, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/18/us/politics/austin-tice-missing-syria.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported The New York Times</a>. The list was reportedly short because only a small group in Assad’s government were informed on Tice.
Since the fall of the Assad regime, Israel has launched air strikes to destroy Syria’s weapons and military infrastructure including its air defenses, aircraft, missiles, UAVs, radars, and more.
Mrs. Tice, worried about the bombing campaign’s interference in rescuing her son, sent Netanyahu a letter on Tuesday stating that she has “credible information” that her son might be in a prison near Damascus, and asked him to pause until Tice is rescued, Axios reported.
On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assured Mrs. Tice that the Israeli Defense Forces are not targeting areas where her son may be located.
“In response to your letter, please rest assured that Israel and its intelligence agencies are fully coordinated with the relevant American authorities on the matter and that the IDF is not active in the area where Austin may be located,” Netanyahu wrote.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu&#8217;s letter to Austin Tice&#8217;s mother.
&#8220;In response to your letter, please rest assured that Israel and its intelligence agencies are fully coordinated with the relevant American authorities on the matter and that the IDF is not active in the area where… <a href="https://t.co/pu72sF3HYQ">pic.twitter.com/pu72sF3HYQ</a>
— Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) <a href="https://twitter.com/KassyAkiva/status/1869776806858887411?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 19, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> 
“I hope that you find a measure of comfort in that knowledge that your son’s courage and dedication as a journalist have not gone unnoticed,” Netanyahu added. “His commitment to the truth and to shining a light on the war in Syria have inspired so many people.”
Mrs. Tice spoke at the National Press Club earlier this month, stating that she was given reassurances that Tice is alive and has been treated well.
“We have from a significant source that has already been vetted all over our government that Austin Tice is alive. Austin Tice is treated well, and there is no doubt about that,” she said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Debra Tice: &#8220;We have from a significant source that has been already been vetted all over our government: Austin Tice is alive. Austin Tice is treated well, and there is no doubt about that.” <a href="https://t.co/Iqj5h971io">pic.twitter.com/Iqj5h971io</a>
— CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1865128039983497295?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 6, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> 
NGO Hostage Aid Worldwide, <a href="https://x.com/HostageAid/status/1866195214865690881" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sent its president</a>, Nizar Zakka, to Syria to assist in the search for Tice.
During a press conference this week, Putin said he would ask President Bashar al-Assad — who fled to Russia following his regime’s collapse — about Tice’s whereabouts.
“I haven’t met with President [Bashar al-]Assad since his arrival in Moscow, but I plan to do so, I will definitely talk to him,” Putin said, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/19/europe/russia-putin-austin-tice-comments-conference-intl/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported CNN</a>.
But Putin expressed doubt that Tice could be found, citing the lengthy time since his detainment.
“But you and I are adults, we understand, right?” Putin said. “12 years ago, a man disappeared in Syria, 12 years ago! We understand what the situation was there 12 years ago, there was active military action, and on both sides. Does President Assad himself know what happened to this American citizen, a journalist who was doing his journalistic duty in a combat zone? Nevertheless, I promise that I will ask this question to those people who control the situation on the ground in Syria today.”
Putin was asked the question following Mrs. Tice requesting his help in a letter, due to his strong ties to the Syrian government.
“The current situation in Syria compels us to ask for your help in finding Austin and safely reuniting our family,” she reportedly wrote in the letter. “You have profound connections with the Syrian government, which can be a great benefit for our unrelenting efforts to find our Austin and reunite our family.”
In August 2024, the twelfth anniversary of Tice’s abduction, Secretary of State Antony Blinken <a href="https://www.state.gov/12-years-of-captivity-for-austin-tice/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reiterated the calls</a> for his release in a statement.
“For more than a quarter of his life, Austin has been separated from his family and kept in unknown conditions,” Blinken&#8217;s statement reads. “We know that the Syrian government has held Austin, and we have repeatedly offered to find a way to bring him home.”
In August 2020, on the eighth anniversary of his capture, President-elect Donald Trump issued a statement calling for Tice&#8217;s release and urged the Syrian government to assist in his return.
“There is no higher priority in my administration than the recovery and return of Americans missing abroad,” <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/DCPD-202000606/pdf/DCPD-202000606.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump wrote</a>. “The Tice family deserves answers. We stand with the Tice family and will not rest until we bring Austin home.”
The Tice family praised Trump for sending Kash Patel to Syria to open a dialogue about Tice’s return. The <a href="https://www.austinticefamily.com/family-statements/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">family said</a> they were closer than they “have ever been to having Austin safely home” at the time.
The family also met with President Joe Biden, who they said made “significant, encouraging commitments” in the efforts to bring Tice home.
A Houston native, Tice served as a captain in the Marine Corps, is an Eagle Scout, and graduated from Georgetown University. He has won several journalism awards, including the 2012 George Polk Award for War Reporting, the 2012 McClatchy Newspapers President’s Award, and the 2015 National Press Club John Aubuchon Freedom of the Press Award, <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/trending/article/captive-austin-tice-family-washington-19953579.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Houston Chronicle reported</a>.
Tice traveled to Syria to freelance in the summer of 2012 before his last year at Georgetown Law School. He is <a href="https://www.austinticefamily.com/#about" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> the longest-held journalist in captivity, according to the National Press Club.

OP-ED-USSYRIA-JOURNALIST-COMMENTARY-ADV25-FT

Inside The Search for Kidnapped American Journalist Austin Tice

Benjamin Netanyahu

Donald Trump

Journalism

Vladimir Putin

The possible outcomes for Syria after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad generally range from bad to worse, though the regime’s end may serve U.S. interests in the region.
Assad’s regime was well-known for the brutality it directed toward its own people as Assad sought to maintain power through a lengthy and bloody civil war. But with terror groups and jihadis in control of large swaths of the country, Syria’s next government could be as harsh or worse toward religious and ethnic minorities.
“Domestically, [Assad’s ouster] is probably going to result in chaos because, prior to Hafez al-Assad&#8217;s taking over 50 years ago, there was one coup after another in Syria,” Hillsdale College history professor Dr. Paul Rahe told The Daily Wire.
<div id="attachment_843363" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-843363" class="size-large wp-image-843363" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/GettyImages-2188582619-864x576.jpg" alt="Syrians Gather In The Umayyad Square In The Heart Of Damascus To Celebrate The Fall Of The Assad Regime On December 9, 2024.(Photo by Rami Alsayed/NurPhoto via Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/GettyImages-2188582619-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/GettyImages-2188582619-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/GettyImages-2188582619-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/GettyImages-2188582619.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Rami Alsayed/NurPhoto via Getty Images</div>
That chaos is largely a result of Syria’s creation out of imperial holdings of the British and French after the first world war, according to Rahe.
“The crucial thing to understand is that Syria is artificial. It goes back to the divvying up of the Near East between the British and the French after World War I. So, there really isn&#8217;t a country there,” Rahe said.
“The difficulties in bringing order to Syria other than the kind of order that Assad imposed – which is violent and dictatorial and tyrannical – the difficulty is very, very great. I don&#8217;t think we should expect this to produce a new awakening for Syria and good things,” he continued. “It may be good for us, … but I wouldn’t be shocked if the civil war continued.”
Amid the chaos, Russia risks the loss of its Tartus naval base on the Mediterranean, as well as the Khmeimim airbase, an important staging post between Russia and its operations in Africa. Iran’s losses are arguably greater. Tehran has spent decades building networks and infrastructure in Syria to supply its terror proxies throughout the region.
<div id="attachment_842239" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-842239" class="wp-image-842239 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/GettyImages-2188589898-1024x576.jpg" alt="TOPSHOT - An aerial photo shows Syrian naval ships destroyed during an overnight Israeli attack on the port city of Latakia on December 10, 2024. The UN special envoy for Syria on December 10 called on Israel to halt its military movements and bombardments inside Syria, days after the fall of president Bashar al-Assad. (Photo by AAREF WATAD / AFP) (Photo by AAREF WATAD/AFP via Getty Images)" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/GettyImages-2188589898-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/GettyImages-2188589898-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/GettyImages-2188589898-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/GettyImages-2188589898-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/GettyImages-2188589898-2048x1152.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />An aerial photo shows Syrian naval ships destroyed during an overnight Israeli attack on the port city of Latakia on December 10, 2024. (Photo by AAREF WATAD/AFP via Getty Images)</div>
Whether Moscow and Tehran can maintain the influence they had with the new regional authority remains to be seen, though the odds are doubtful. Reports say both Russia and Iran have pulled resources out of the country in the days since Assad’s ouster.
The group responsible for Assad’s fall is Ha’yat Tehrir al-Sham (HTS), a U.S.-designated terror group that led the rebel coalition against the Assad regime. HTS is led by a man who, until recently, was known by his nom de guerre <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/who-is-syrian-rebel-leader-mohammad-al-jolani" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Abu Mohammad al-Jolani</a>. He dropped the name while distancing himself from his radical Islamist past, recently reverting to his real name, Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Sharaa, with his past ties to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, is wanted under a $10 million bounty by the United States.
Sharaa is closely aligned with Turkey and its autocratic ruler, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, leaving the Turks in the best position to influence the possible next leader of Syria. That influence could have a significant impact on how U.S. interests in the region are served, according to Rahe.
“Whether it&#8217;s in our interest or in the interest of the Israelis depends to a great degree on the policy of Turkey, and there&#8217;s no clarity about the policy of Turkey with regard to Israel,” Rahe said. “At times, the Erdogan government has cooperated very closely with the Israelis. At other times, it has been strongly hostile to Israel.”
Despite the questions surrounding Turkey, the fact that Tehran is no longer the dominant state sponsor in Syria bodes well.
“[Assad] was a pawn of Iran, so the weakening of Iran is very good for us,” Rahe said. “If it turns out to be a radical Islamist regime on the border of Israel, it will be trouble. But will it be as much trouble as Iran was with Assad, with Hezbollah, with the Houthis? I think not. So, on the whole, I think it’s a piece of luck for us.”
<div id="attachment_843367" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-843367" class="size-large wp-image-843367" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/GettyImages-2189513052-864x576.jpg" alt="UNSPECIFIED, SYRIA - DECEMBER 11: Islamist rebels of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) stand guard at the entrance of the first abandoned military base that reads Our Leader Forever - Hafez al-Assad on December 11, 2024, inside Lebanons border with Syria, Rebel forces in Syria have retaken the capital from longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, who has fled the country for Moscow. The fall of the Assad regime marks a new chapter for Syria, which has been mired in a multi-party civil war since 2011, sparked by the Arab Spring uprisings. (Photo by Scott Peterson/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/GettyImages-2189513052-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/GettyImages-2189513052-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/GettyImages-2189513052-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/GettyImages-2189513052.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Scott Peterson/Getty Images</div>
The United States has roughly 1,000 troops in Syria, left over from forces ordered there under the Obama administration to fight the rise of the Islamic State. President Joe Biden has dedicated American forces toward that aim again, launching dozens of airstrikes against Islamic State positions in Syria in the past week.
“We’re clear-eyed about the fact that ISIS will try to take advantage of any vacuum to reestablish its capability and to create a safe haven. We will not let that happen,” Biden <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2024/12/08/remarks-by-president-biden-on-the-latest-developments-in-syria/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in remarks from the White House on December 8.
Biden’s limited interventions in Syria appear to be more than President-elect Donald Trump prefers or would pursue after he takes office in January.
“Syria is a mess, but is not our friend, &amp; THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT,” Trump said in a recent post on Truth Social. “THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET IT PLAY OUT. DO NOT GET INVOLVED!”
But with Assad out and Syria’s future governance in doubt for the first time in 50 years, should the United States move in to assert its influence and interests in the new regime? According to Rahe, that would be a bad idea based more on hubris than reality.
“It&#8217;s too easy for Americans to exaggerate American agency, our capacity to fix things, to shape things. The prudent thing to do is to watch and wait,” Rahe told The Daily Wire. “If a government emerges and it&#8217;s in control of the territory, we should recognize it and our diplomats should try to work with it. Then we’ll see.”
“But we can’t control this,” he continued. “The Russians can’t control it. The Iranians can’t control it. And my guess is, in the end, the Turks can’t control it, though they can influence things.”

TOPSHOT-SYRIA-CONFLICT

‘We Can’t Control This’: The Fall Of Assad And The Future Of Syria

Iran

Middle East

Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Turkey

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/israel-defense-forces-idf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Israel Defense Forces</a> (IDF) have launched nearly 500 strikes across Syria over the last two days to prevent military weaponry from falling into the hands of terrorists who have overthrown Syrian President Bashar al-Assad&#8217;s brutal dictatorship.
On Monday night, Israeli Navy missile ships struck two Syrian Navy facilities — the Al-Bayda port and the Latakia port — destroying approximately 15 Syrian naval vessels.
&#8220;Dozens of sea-to-sea missiles with ranges of 80–190 kilometers were destroyed,&#8221; the IDF said in a statement. &#8220;Each missile carried significant explosive payloads, posing threats to civilian and military maritime vessels in the area.&#8221;
Fighter pilots in the Israel Air Force (IAF) flew hundreds of hours over Syrian airspace this week, carrying out more than 350 strikes against targets.
&#8220;A wide range of targets were struck, including anti-aircraft batteries, Syrian Air Force airfields, and dozens of weapons production sites in Damascus, Homs, Tartus, Latakia, and Palmyra,&#8221; the IDF said. &#8220;Numerous strategic weapons were neutralized, including Scud missiles, cruise missiles, surface-to-sea, surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missiles, UAVs, fighter jets, attack helicopters, radars, tanks, hangars, and more.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
⭕ In 48 hours, the IDF struck most of the strategic weapons stockpiles in Syria to prevent them from falling into the hands of terrorist elements. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻:
⚓ Naval Operations: Israeli Navy missile ships struck 2 Syrian Navy facilities… <a href="https://t.co/6N1fz7BiMF">pic.twitter.com/6N1fz7BiMF</a>
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) <a href="https://twitter.com/IDF/status/1866559502100861115?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 10, 2024</a></blockquote>
Retired British colonel Richard Kemp, who was a top intelligence official, said that the strikes were perhaps the most intense in Israel&#8217;s history and were a brilliant strategic move.
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&#8220;Strategic masterstroke by Israel,&#8221; Kemp posted on X. &#8220;In perhaps the most intensive bombing campaign in its history, Israel has destroyed the Syrian air force, air defenses, navy &amp; army assets plus defense industries &amp; [Command, Control, and Intelligence].&#8221;
&#8220;Looks also like chemical weapons neutralized/seized,&#8221; he added. &#8220;IDF ground forces secured defense lines inside Syria. This eliminates a significant threat to Israel &amp; further degrades &amp; neutralizes the remnants of Hezbollah. It is also yet another hammer blow to Iran.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Strategic masterstroke by Israel. In perhaps the most intensive bombing campaign in its history, Israel has destroyed the Syrian air force, air defences, navy &amp; army assets plus defence industries &amp; C2I. Looks also like chemical weapons neutralised/seized. IDF ground forces… <a href="https://t.co/9ZX92pYMBn">pic.twitter.com/9ZX92pYMBn</a>
— Rɪᴄʜᴀʀᴅ Kᴇᴍᴘ ⋁ (@COLRICHARDKEMP) <a href="https://twitter.com/COLRICHARDKEMP/status/1866443672146874406?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 10, 2024</a></blockquote>

TOPSHOT-SYRIA-ISRAEL-CONFLICT

Israel Conducts Nearly 500 Strikes In Syria To Stop Weapons From Falling Into Terrorist’s Hands

Global Politics

Israel

World

TOPSHOT-SYRIA-CONFLICT-MOSQUE-JOLANI

Who Is Syrian Rebel Leader Mohammad al-Jolani?

Al Qaeda

ISIS

The Assad regime in Syria is gone. 
A tectonic shift in the Middle East just happened over the weekend. On Sunday morning, Syrian rebels finally took Damascus. They took Bashar al-Assad&#8217;s palace. The Assad regime is no more. Assad has fled to Moscow where he is being granted some sort of asylum because the Russians backed the Assad regime.
It’s important to remember that Syria is an artificial creation, post-World War I by the West, French, and British. Because of that, like many other states in the Middle East, it is unworkable and has been unworkable for a very long time.
There are a large number of groups of various religious belief systems — many of them unbelievably radical, many of them terrorists — all fighting one another.
The Syrian civil war is likely to continue for a long time to come because this is an unworkable patchwork of various groups in various areas of the country.
There are numerous interests involved. The Russians are exceptionally interested in Syria because they wanted to secure ports on the Mediterranean Sea in Syria, which they actually did with the acquiescence of the Assad regime.
Iran used Syria as a thoroughfare and helped prop up the Assad regime.
Turkey, on the other hand, did not like the Assad regime and was also attempting to make its own incursions into Syria. That is because many people in Syria are Kurds and the Turks don&#8217;t like the Kurds in the same way they don&#8217;t like the Armenians.
Israel wants to defend itself and make sure that it is not the victim of yet another land incursion from Syria.
So Syria, as is geopolitically evident, is just a mess. That’s without even getting into the internal politics.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-2100-member-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
Syria is split into many different territories. Certain opposition groups in the south of Syria border the Golan Heights and Jordan. Some of those are radical Sunni Islamists. Some of those are Druze. 
The main terrorist-rebel coalition is located in the northwest of Syria. That coalition is run by a person named Abu Mohammed al-Golani, an Al-Qaeda and ISIS-affiliated terrorist. He’s in the north and backed by the Turks.
The Kurds are in control of a large swath of the northeast area that was, at one time, not under the control of the Kurds but under the control of ISIS, where ISIS still has a presence. ISIS prisons held tens of thousands of prisoners in those Kurdish areas.
After the Assad regime fell, the United States started launching airstrikes in these ISIS-type hotbeds in the Kurdish area of Syria in order to prevent ISIS from reconstituting. Turkey also has taken over huge swaths of the north of Syria.
All the pretense from the media asserting that the people who just took over Syria might be moderate is flat wrong.
By 2024, the Assad regime basically had no money. Their currency was effectively worthless; there were massive inflation rates. The Assad regime had to be propped up by outside forces, Iran and Russia. Russia gave them weaponry and other resources; in return, they got access to some coastal bases in Syria.
Then, October 7 happened. Iran activated Hamas. Hamas murdered 1,200 Jews and pulled 250 more into Gaza, many of whom are still being held in the terror tunnels. Hezbollah started firing thousands of missiles over the course of a year into northern Israel, clearing out Israel&#8217;s north.
Over the course of the subsequent year, Israel proceeded to take out Hamas and virtually all of their military resources, then turned to devastating Hezbollah. They also conducted operations in Syria to prevent Syria from being used as a thoroughfare for Hezbollah resources. So Iran’s sphere of influence got absolutely shellacked.
Meanwhile, Russia was bogged down in their war with Ukraine. They simply didn&#8217;t have the money or the capacity to uphold the Assad regime.
As a byproduct of the Ukraine war and Israel’s efforts, Assad had no allies upon whom to call. The legs of the stool on which his regime was standing got kicked out from underneath him and, as a result, the stool fell.
What happened in Syria was not that the Sunni Muslim terrorist groups suddenly became good at war again. They were really low ebb at the beginning of 2024. What happened is that Assad was basically an eggshell skull. They tapped him. He fell. There was no one to come to his support.
Thus, the terrorist-rebels took advantage and toppled the regime. That&#8217;s effectively the story here. Turkey backed many of these Sunni Muslim terrorist groups that hated the Assad regime. Wishing to expand their own sphere of influence into Syria, they took advantage of the chaos caused by Iran and Russia&#8217;s withdrawal.
The two biggest losers in this situation are Russia, because they had backed the Assad regime, and Iran, which has lost their entire crescent of Islamic Shia terror. Hamas is gone. Hezbollah is gone. Assad is gone. These are all massive blows to the Iranian regime, all caused by what Iran started. It is one of the ultimate “f*** around and find out” moments in human history.
The Iranian regime is in serious trouble right now. They have failed on every possible front. And with the Trump administration coming in and presumably increasing sanctions on the Iranian regime, the Iranian regime is going to have one of two choices: Either they&#8217;re going to have to cut some sort of deal with the West in which they abandon their nuclear efforts and presumably move toward some form of non-tyranny or they&#8217;re going to be forced to collapse. The state of Israel is not going to sit around waiting to see what Iran does next with its nuclear weapons — not after Israel already took out Iran’s air defenses.
The big winner in Syria is Turkey. Turkey took an enormous amount of territory. The Kurds had basically cleared an enormous amount of territory. But now they&#8217;re going to be at war directly with the Turks, who are going to be pouring forces and resources into that region.
As for Israel, they can be happy that the Iranian regime has lost power to use Syria as its tool. But the people replacing that regime are Al-Qaeda and ISIS jihadists.
The fate of many people in Syria remains very much in doubt.
Welcome to the Middle East, where there are no good solutions.
* * *
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Reactions In Syria To Fall Of Assad Regime In Syria

Syria Falls

Islamic State (ISIS)

Radical Islam

Russia

Terrorists

Former CENTCOM commander retired General Frank McKenzie said during an interview over the weekend that the collapse of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/syria" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Syrian government</a> may not be a good thing for the people of the country, despite Western media cheering the downfall of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.
McKenzie made the remarks during a Sunday interview with ABC News&#8217; Martha Raddatz on &#8220;This Week&#8221; when responding to the country&#8217;s stunning collapse after terrorists launched an aggressive offensive from the north just a little over a week ago.
&#8220;Over the last 48 hours, it has been a remarkable chain of events,&#8221; he said. &#8220;You know, bad news for a lot of people, less clear who the good news is going to be for.&#8221;
He said that there was probably less danger for U.S. forces in the region since the collapse of the country put Russia and Iran on their heels.
&#8220;One of the best equipped, best trained, and most capable forces in all of Syria today is actually our Kurdish partners east of the Euphrates River,&#8221; he said. &#8220;They&#8217;ll be able to defend themselves. I&#8217;m confident of that.&#8221;
He said that Russia, Iran, and Lebanese Hezbollah were the big losers from Assad being forced out of power.
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&#8220;For all three of these entities, this is bad news because now they had a partner, not necessarily a good and capable partner, but a partner, and he is gone,&#8221; he said. &#8220;He&#8217;s left the stage, so they&#8217;re going to have to negotiate with who comes in. So it&#8217;s bad news for them.&#8221;
&#8220;It&#8217;s less obvious who it&#8217;s good news for,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;I&#8217;m not sure it&#8217;s ultimately going to be good news for the people of Syria. You know, we could have an Islamic State arise there, which will have profound negative implications across the region. That is possible. There are other possibilities as well, and I think in the next 48, 72, 96 hours, this will begin to become clearer to us.&#8221;
McKenzie noted that the leader of the terrorist group has a $10 million bounty on his head from the U.S. government because &#8220;he has a significant track record.&#8221;
&#8220;Certainly he could advance new ideas coming in,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It&#8217;s been my experience, though, that typically they don&#8217;t.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
“The Iranians, Lebanese Hezbollah and, in fact, the Russians are all on their back heels now as a result of what has just happened in Syria,&#8221; former CENTCOM commander Frank McKenzie says after Bashar al-Assad’s government appears to fall to rebels. <a href="https://t.co/OKdyQuTGle">https://t.co/OKdyQuTGle</a> <a href="https://t.co/rrrjwuoByR">pic.twitter.com/rrrjwuoByR</a>
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1865769519437754541?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 8, 2024</a></blockquote>

Senate Armed Services Committee

Ex-CENTCOM Chief On Syria’s Collapse: ‘Not Sure It’s Ultimately Going To Be Good News For Syria’

In the hours after <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/syria" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Syrian</a> President Bashar al-Assad’s regime fell over the weekend, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces conducted &#8220;precision airstrikes targeting known ISIS camps and operatives&#8221; in central Syria on Sunday.
&#8220;The strikes against the ISIS leaders, operatives, and camps were conducted as part of the ongoing mission to disrupt, degrade, and defeat ISIS, in order to prevent the terrorist group from conducting external operations and to ensure that ISIS does not seek to take advantage of the current situation to reconstitute in central Syria,&#8221; CENTCOM <a href="https://x.com/CENTCOM/status/1865841718366450013" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement. &#8220;The operation struck over 75 targets using multiple U.S. Air Force assets, including B-52s, F-15s, and A-10s.&#8221;
CENTCOM said battle damage assessments were &#8220;underway&#8221; and noted that there were &#8220;no indications&#8221; of civilian casualties. CENTCOM also said it would &#8220;continue to carry out operations to degrade ISIS operational capabilities even during this dynamic period in Syria&#8221; together with U.S. &#8220;allies and partners&#8221; in the region.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/israel-occupies-buffer-zone-as-syria-falls-into-chaos-netanyahu-warns-of-significant-dangers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RELATED: Israel Occupies Buffer Zone As Syria Falls Into Chaos, Netanyahu Warns Of ‘Significant Dangers’</a>
&#8220;There should be no doubt — we will not allow ISIS to reconstitute and take advantage of the current situation in Syria,&#8221; said Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla. &#8220;All organizations in Syria should know that we will hold them accountable if they partner with or support ISIS in any way.&#8221;
Assad fled to Russia as rebel forces took over the capital of Damascus amid a sudden resurgence of fighting in Syria&#8217;s civil war that had stalled in recent years, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/assad-is-gone-trump-responds-to-syrias-downfall-calls-for-russia-ukraine-ceasefire?topStoryPosition=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Russia&#8217;s state media <a href="https://x.com/yashar/status/1865817892178247886" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Assad and his family made it to Moscow and were granted political asylum.
In public remarks, President Joe Biden <a href="https://x.com/ABCPolitics/status/1865834957366538536" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that U.S. forces conducted &#8220;precision airstrikes&#8221; within Syria against ISIS, and pledged to help &#8220;ensure stability&#8221; in the country.
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&#8220;We&#8217;re clear-eyed about the fact that ISIS will try to take advantage of any vacuum to re-establish its capabilities and to create a safe haven,&#8221; Biden said. &#8220;We will not let that happen.&#8221;
President-elect Donald Trump, who is slated to begin his second term in a little more than five weeks, <a href="https://x.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1865434273953509462" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declared</a> in a post to X on Saturday that Syria is a &#8220;mess&#8221; and the United States should &#8220;NOT GET INVOLVED!&#8221;

U.S. B-52H

U.S. Forces Conduct ‘Precision Airstrikes’ On ISIS Targets In Syria After Assad Regime Collapses

Joe Biden

Pentagon

President-elect <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a> said during an interview over the weekend that it was ridiculous that people were criticizing former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) over her meeting years ago with then-Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Trump&#8217;s remarks during the interview on NBC News&#8217; &#8220;Meet The Press&#8221; with Kristen Welker were aired on Sunday, just a day after Assad was forced to flee the country as his government collapsed following an aggressive military campaign from terrorist rebels.
&#8220;I met with Putin. I met with President Xi of China. I met with Kim Jong-un twice,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;Does that mean that I can’t be president?&#8221;
&#8220;People meet. All these people meet,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;I mean, I see some of the most dishonest people. I’ll tell you, the 51 agents that said that the laptop wasn’t from Hunter, it was from Russia, what about them? Tell me about them. Do you think they did something wrong? Do you think they were all so stupid that they thought that the laptop from hell?&#8211;&#8221;
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When asked if he had confidence in Gabbard, Trump said: &#8220;I do. I mean, she’s a very respected person.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Trump rips people claiming that former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard&#8217;s (D-HI) meeting with then-Syrian President Bashar al-Assad disqualifies her from ODNI.
&#8220;I met with Putin. I met with President Xi of China. I met with Kim Jong-un twice. Does that mean that I can’t be president?&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/t8UeX6oGgg">pic.twitter.com/t8UeX6oGgg</a>
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealSaavedra/status/1865890619085705414?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 8, 2024</a></blockquote>

Screen Shot 2022-03-24 at 8.41.05 AM

Trump Rips Those Criticizing Tulsi Gabbard For Meeting With Assad

Executive

Politics

Tulsi Gabbard

Former Secretary of Defense <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mark-esper" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mark Esper</a>, who served under President Donald Trump, said over the weekend that Russia and Iran were &#8220;severely impacted&#8221; by the collapse of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad&#8217;s government and his exile to Russia.
Esper made the remarks on Sunday during a segment on CNN while discussing the stunning collapse of the regime in just a little over a week.
&#8220;This is historic, to say the least. This is the regime, the Assad regime, that&#8217;s ruled that country brutally for 50-plus years. And now they&#8217;re coming to an end,&#8221; he said. &#8220;From a historical perspective, stepping back a little bit, it&#8217;s not unlike what&#8217;s happened over the past 20 years across the Arab world, as you look at strongmen, from Moammar Gadhafi in Libya, who was toppled, all the way to Saddam Hussein, who was toppled. And in both cases, those regimes fell apart and the brutality ended.&#8221;
He said that Russia may no longer have a foothold in the Middle East as a result of the collapse.
&#8220;And, of course, Iran, I think, is most severely impacted by this,&#8221; he said.
&#8220;They will now lose their air and ground routes through Syria that used to supply the Hezbollah in Lebanon, so very significant for those countries on a major basis.&#8221;
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&#8220;And for other countries in the region &#8212; Jordan, Turkey, others &#8212; they will now see the return of millions of refugees who have been housed in their countries for years, hopefully for them returning to Syria,&#8221; he continued.
He said that there was a concern about weapons, including chemical weapons, from Assad&#8217;s military falling into the hands of the terrorist rebels.
&#8220;We don&#8217;t want it to look like the ISIS caliphate. So that&#8217;d be another immediate concern,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We don&#8217;t want it to look like the Taliban rule. We don&#8217;t want it to look like a theocracy in Iran.&#8221;
He added that he believes that Trump&#8217;s assessment of the situation, that the U.S. should not get involved, is completely correct.
&#8220;I agree. I don&#8217;t see that role right now to do that,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Donald Trump is always consistent, if there&#8217;s one thing, that he did not want to get involved in wars. So I think we should take him at his word on that.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Former Trump Defense Secretary <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkTEsper?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MarkTEsper</a> tells <a href="https://twitter.com/jaketapper?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jaketapper</a> that “Iran is most severely impacted” by the collapse of the Assad regime and says the big question is “who is going to govern Syria and what will it look like?” <a href="https://t.co/4BLh8TygpU">pic.twitter.com/4BLh8TygpU</a>
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNSOTU/status/1865787228892352640?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 8, 2024</a></blockquote>

Senate Holds Confirmation Hearing For Mark Esper For Secretary Of Defense

Former Trump SecDef: Russia, Iran ‘Severely Impacted’ By Assad’s Collapse In Syria

Mark Esper

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/syria" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Syrian</a> terrorist rebels say that dictator Bashar Al-Assad has been <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/syria-rebels-celebrate-captured-homs-set-sights-damascus-2024-12-07/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deposed</a> after more than two decades in power, claiming control of the capital city of Damascus.
Per military officers who spoke with Reuters, Assad allegedly fled Damascus to an “unknown destination” after earlier asking the United States for help as Syria fell to the terrorist rebels. An airplane potentially carrying Assad was tracked heading toward Syria’s coast before changing its trajectory and vanishing from detection.
The rebels, primarily Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a <a href="https://www.dni.gov/nctc/ftos/hts_fto.html#:~:text=Hay'at%20Tahrir%20al%2DSham%20(HTS)%20is%20a,ida's%20former%20branch%20in%20Syria.">designated</a> Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) that evolved out of Al-Qaeda’s former branch in Syria, have marched across the nation, seizing city after city in a blitz. Syria’s allies Russia and Iran have been too militarily depleted and distracted to aid Assad.
In just a little over a week, the rebels conquered Aleppo in northern Syria and quickly moved south, capturing Hama, Homs, and now the country’s capital city of Damascus. The rebels claimed to have overtaken Saydnaya Military Prison north of Damascus just hours before the city fell, according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/syria-civil-war-12-07-2024-intl/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN</a>.
The rebels&#8217; Military Operations Command declared on Telegram: &#8220;We declare the city of Damascus free from the tyrant Bashar al-Assad. &#8230; To the displaced all over the world, a free Syria awaits you.&#8221;
Bloomberg News reported that Assad had made “indirect diplomatic overtures to the US and President-elect Donald Trump” to save his dictatorship. The deals that he sought apparently would have allowed him to stay in power or have safe passage into exile if need be.
Earlier on Saturday, President-elect Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/syrian-dictator-assad-begs-u-s-to-save-him-as-terrorist-rebels-encircle-damascus" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement that the United States should not intervene at all, and rather let the various terrorist groups fight amongst each other.
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“Syria is a mess, but is not our friend, &amp; THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT,” Trump said. “THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET IT PLAY OUT. DO NOT GET INVOLVED!”
“Russia, because they are so tied up in Ukraine, and with the loss there of over 600,000 soldiers, seems incapable of stopping this literal march through Syria, a country they have protected for years,” he continued. “This is where former President Obama refused to honor his commitment of protecting the RED LINE IN THE SAND, and all hell broke out, with Russia stepping in.”
Ryan Saavedra contributed to this report.

Syrian Dictator Bashar Al-Assad Deposed As Terrorist Rebels Claim Damascus

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