Global Outlook

  US diplomats have made their way to Damascus for a historic engagement with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), marking the first American diplomatic mission to the Syrian capital in more than a decade. This bold move comes in the wake of dramatic changes in Syria’s political landscape, notably the fall of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime just over a week ago. The delegation’s presence reflects a renewed sense of urgency among Western powers to influence Syria’s governance amid rapid shifts in power dynamics. The delegation includes Assistant Secretary of State Barbara Leaf, hostage envoy Roger Carstens, and senior adviser Daniel Rubinstein. Tasked with a multifaceted mission, they aim to engage with a wide array of Syrian voices, including civil society members, activists, and representatives of different communities. Their goal is to gauge aspirations for Syria’s future and identify ways in which the United States can lend its support. According to a State Department spokesperson, th...

  Recent violent actions of Al-Julani’s group perform cruel acts including flogging an orphaned child for selling cigarettes, power abuse. As it will be seen, this kind of approach represents the level of dominance that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has in some regions in Syria. It has gone further in oppression starting with gagging the dissenters to brutalizing citizens who are least protected. The flogging of the child who just attempted to feed his family just demonstrates the price people pay when they are forced to survive under the rule of this terror group, HTS. This is not an exception to the rule but is rather a part of a tendency to establish violence in Syria. Al-Julani, once an associate of Al-Qaeda, relentlessly has pursued the agenda of an Islamic state in the Levant. They belong to a group that is affiliated with terrorist organizations such Al-Qaeda, which raises eyebrows. The recent good results of HTS have brightened the militants in the eyes of other global terror ...