Al-Sharaa Wants to ‘Please the United States’ — Journalist on Syria Post-Assad

In December 2024, the Syrian people made history when they overthrew Bashar al-Assad, ending his nearly 25-year brutal dictatorship and his family’s 54-year reign over the nation.

Assad fled to Russia as Syrians were left to pick up the pieces and decide whether or not to get behind new emerging leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, the ex-militant formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, who has vowed to take Syria toward democracy, rebuild the country’s shattered economy, and safeguard its religious minorities.

However, Sharaa is the former leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a Syrian militant group with ties to Al Qaeda. In this interview, veteran journalist and author of Syria: Civil War to Holy War?, Charles Glass, casts doubt on whether the ex-militant is the right leader for post-Assad Syria. He tells Mehdi that while Sharaa’s new constitutional document does cover minority rights, the word ‘democracy’ is nowhere to be found in it.

Earlier this week, Israel launched a series of strikes in Syria after minority and tribal groups clashed. Despite reaching a ceasefire agreement, Israel continued to bomb the region hours after.

Watch the interview above to hear the full discussion, including what a peace agreement between Israel and Syria could look like and how dangerous it is for Donald Trump to lack a clear strategy for the Middle East.

This interview was published last week on zeteo.com. If you liked this conversation and want to watch similar discussions earlier, make sure to subscribe to Zeteo for exclusive content and early access to unfiltered journalism.

#Syria #Assad #Sharaa

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