(ANALYSIS) Syria’s sudden shift in leadership has introduced the Islamist world’s rising star: Syrian rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani, the leader of HTS. Despite Jawlani’s soft-spoken promises of peace and prosperity, his history is both alarming and ominous.
Read MoreThe instant collapse of Assad’s rule will reshape the geopolitics of the Mideast for years to come. Within Syria itself, the challenge is how to replace the bloodthirsty past and current revolutionary turbulence with effective government capable of restoring and unifying a nation that currently copes with regional occupations by Turkey, Israel and others.
Read More(OPINION) The fall of Assad highlights a classic case of unintended consequences. Israel — like the West — was long ambivalent about the fate of the despotic Syrian regime, which was a bitter enemy, but a weakened one that seemed to have made peace with Israel’s usurping of the strategic Golan Heights.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The Turkish government’s conversion of the Hagia Sophia from a museum into a mosque has drawn sharp criticism, celebration, and now pledges to rebuild the church in Syria. The decision is part of a long-term agenda of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Islamist parties to restore national pride in its Ottoman past, drawing both sharp criticism for implications for religious minorities and mixed praise in the region.
Read MoreRussian TV captured a short exchange where the leaders used the biblical story of Paul the Apostle to joke about how a visit to Syria might change the American president.
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