By Mehdi Hasan and Team Zeteo
Photos: Zeteo\YouTube Screenshots
How did the Syrian opposition capture Aleppo so fast? Could we see the end of the Bashar al Assad regime in the coming weeks or months? Who are Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the group leading the anti-Assad offensive, and what are their ties to Al Qaeda or other outside forces?
This week, Mehdi was joined by Syrian-American journalist and analyst Hassan Hassan, in a Zoom Town Hall Q&A with Zeteo’s paid subscribers, to break down the latest developments in Syria and unpack some of the complexities to this major conflict. Hassan is the founder and editor-in-chief of New Lines magazine and author of the New York Times bestseller ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror.
“They [Hayat Tahrir al-Sham] are still obviously bad guys in the sense that they’re radicals, but I don’t think they are… simply jihadists,” says Hassan of HTS. “They’re trying to be pragmatic.”
Given the stark nature of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, it is very easy for outside observers to see the events in Syria through a similar lens of good vs evil, although nuance here is far more important, Hassan explains.
Over the course of more than 40 minutes, the Syrian-American analyst and author took questions from subscribers on everything from Assad’s future, to the make-up of the Syrian opposition, to the role of outside powers like Israel, Russia, Turkey, and the United States. Mehdi also asked Hassan about accusations that HTS are CIA proxies and whether there is a risk of a rise in Sunni-Shia sectarianism across the region.
“The Assad regime was on the verge of normalizing with almost every country in the region,” Hassan tells the Zeteo audience. “I think the heaviest blow is not just that the rebels did this, but the whole trajectory that the Assad regime was basically going for is completely different.”
If you are a paid subscriber, you can watch the full conversation above, including what Hassan means when he says he has hope for Syria and its “three rulers,” and how Donald Trump’s return to power in the US, and all of his appointments from Marco Rubio to Tulsi Gabbard, could play into the situation on the ground.
Free subscribers can only watch a five-minute preview. Consider becoming a paid subscriber today to watch the full, timely conversation and to participate in the next Q&A!
