From radical insurgent with a 10-million dollar bounty on his head to a red carpet welcome at the White House, the rebranding of Ahmed Al Sharaa’s now complete.
The former jihadist becoming the first-ever Syrian president invited inside the Oval Office. We’ll ask about the terms and conditions of a visit that surely seals a regional realignment on a scale unseen since the 1979 fall of the Shah of Iran. How much did backers Turkey and Saudi Arabia press for this moment?
Where does it leave Israel who on the same day’s getting a visit from the U-S president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner to remind his hosts to play nice with the Turks during phase two of the Gaza peace iniative. Does this all mean that the same Donald Trump who campaigned against foreign interventions will wind up involving the United States more - not less - in the Middle East?
And where does it leave a Syria where the U.S. still backs the Kurds in the fight against Isis and where Christian and Druze minorities have plenty of reason to doubt Al Sharaa’s promise of guaranteeing their safety? More broadly, how soon can the new masters of Damascus deliver a peace dividend to citizens still reeling from decades of dictatorship, corruption and civil war?
Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Ilayda Habip, Charles Wente & Jean-Vincent Russo
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Robert FORD Former US Ambassador to Syria
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Rania ABOUZEID Journalist and author
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Samir AITA President of the Cercle des Economistes Arabes (Arab Economists' Circle)
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Farah YOUSSEF Researcher and human rights defender, political activist
English (US) · 