The fall of Bashar Assad in Syria has led to grave uncertainties — both in the geopolitical situation there, and in the day-to-day running of the country, which has suffered under civil war for 14 years.
The new governing authority under HTS is looking for the lifting of international sanctions so it can start rebuilding the country after over a decade of civil war. Also, questions remain over whether or not this new governing authority will be tolerant of the minorities in Syria, which include the Allawites, Christians and Druze peoples. But there are already reports of intermittent attacks on Allawites, revenge attacks on former police, military and former Assad operatives throughout the country. Whether these incidents are disparate or reflective of something more significant about the direction of the new leadership there, remains to be determined, as current leader Ahmed Al-Sharra insists he is in favor of a process that results in an inclusive, representative government.
The U.S. still has at least 2,000 soldiers stationed in the northeastern part of the country, ostensibly to fight ISIS. Turkey is launching attacks against the U.S.-supported Kurd-led Syrian Defense Forces (SDF) in that part of Syria and threaten to eliminate any of the strongholds that the SDF had maintained during the civil war. Meanwhile, Israel has taken over the UN-protected buffer zone in the Golan Heights, reportedly destroying property and threatening local villagers. How far will they go? How long will they stay?
These are just some of the questions as we move into 2025 — including what the kind of policy President Donald Trump will pursue when it comes to Syria — will he help to lift sanctions or be more skeptical of the Sunni-led HTS in Damascus?
Here to talk with me about this are my friends Matthew Petti, who is a reporter for Reason magazine and who has lived in the region, and Connor Echols, who is the managing editor of the NonZero newsletter and has also lived and studied in the region.
More from Petti:
Is Biden Teeing up a war with Iran for Trump?
More from Echols:
