Anne Applebaum

And then once they walked into Aleppo, then they walked into a bunch of other cities and villages, and then they basically walked into Damascus. And that is, to me, is really interesting because it means that the army, the police, the security apparatus, you know, the people who worked for Assad suddenly lost their belief that he would protect them. Right.

And all of these people, everybody who's in the army or in the police or wherever, they all also live in this country that has been ruled by this unbelievably brutal system for a long time. And they all have cousins and friends and relatives and acquaintances who were in prison or who were tortured or who are refugees because everybody just everybody does in a state like that.

And all of these people, everybody who's in the army or in the police or wherever, they all also live in this country that has been ruled by this unbelievably brutal system for a long time. And they all have cousins and friends and relatives and acquaintances who were in prison or who were tortured or who are refugees because everybody just everybody does in a state like that.

And all of these people, everybody who's in the army or in the police or wherever, they all also live in this country that has been ruled by this unbelievably brutal system for a long time. And they all have cousins and friends and relatives and acquaintances who were in prison or who were tortured or who are refugees because everybody just everybody does in a state like that.

They're loyal to the regime because the regime pays them, presumably, or because it gives them some kind of access to goods. That's how it works, for example, in Venezuela or in Cuba, but also because it protects them from the wrath of their fellow citizens. And once they... lose that. Once the regime appears weak, then it was a collapse.

They're loyal to the regime because the regime pays them, presumably, or because it gives them some kind of access to goods. That's how it works, for example, in Venezuela or in Cuba, but also because it protects them from the wrath of their fellow citizens. And once they... lose that. Once the regime appears weak, then it was a collapse.

They're loyal to the regime because the regime pays them, presumably, or because it gives them some kind of access to goods. That's how it works, for example, in Venezuela or in Cuba, but also because it protects them from the wrath of their fellow citizens. And once they... lose that. Once the regime appears weak, then it was a collapse.

Then they just all melted into the woodwork and they took off their uniforms and walked away. It's a really interesting model because we tend to think about these systems as eternal and they can't be stopped and they're so brutal that their violence controls everything.

Then they just all melted into the woodwork and they took off their uniforms and walked away. It's a really interesting model because we tend to think about these systems as eternal and they can't be stopped and they're so brutal that their violence controls everything.

Then they just all melted into the woodwork and they took off their uniforms and walked away. It's a really interesting model because we tend to think about these systems as eternal and they can't be stopped and they're so brutal that their violence controls everything.

But again, remembering the subject that we started with, which is that the long-term effect of brutality and centralization and oligarchy control is poverty. You know, and that eventually it destroys any culture of entrepreneurship or business or investment. Those regimes can once people lose faith in them, then they can they can go quite closely. I mean, a really interesting country to watch.

But again, remembering the subject that we started with, which is that the long-term effect of brutality and centralization and oligarchy control is poverty. You know, and that eventually it destroys any culture of entrepreneurship or business or investment. Those regimes can once people lose faith in them, then they can they can go quite closely. I mean, a really interesting country to watch.

But again, remembering the subject that we started with, which is that the long-term effect of brutality and centralization and oligarchy control is poverty. You know, and that eventually it destroys any culture of entrepreneurship or business or investment. Those regimes can once people lose faith in them, then they can they can go quite closely. I mean, a really interesting country to watch.

I have this weird web of connections that I make in my head that is maybe peculiar to me. But like when I saw Syria, I started thinking about Venezuela. Yeah. On the other side of the planet, I realize not really similar culturally or any other way, but it's also a country where the regime is still there because of the army and the police.

I have this weird web of connections that I make in my head that is maybe peculiar to me. But like when I saw Syria, I started thinking about Venezuela. Yeah. On the other side of the planet, I realize not really similar culturally or any other way, but it's also a country where the regime is still there because of the army and the police.

I have this weird web of connections that I make in my head that is maybe peculiar to me. But like when I saw Syria, I started thinking about Venezuela. Yeah. On the other side of the planet, I realize not really similar culturally or any other way, but it's also a country where the regime is still there because of the army and the police.

continuing to work for it, even though there's a lot of evidence that the army and the police are very uncomfortable with the system and sympathize a lot with the population. And it's another place where you could see maybe some kind of rapid change. All of these apparently stable regimes have some very fundamental, you know, profound flaws. And that includes Russia too, of course.

continuing to work for it, even though there's a lot of evidence that the army and the police are very uncomfortable with the system and sympathize a lot with the population. And it's another place where you could see maybe some kind of rapid change. All of these apparently stable regimes have some very fundamental, you know, profound flaws. And that includes Russia too, of course.

continuing to work for it, even though there's a lot of evidence that the army and the police are very uncomfortable with the system and sympathize a lot with the population. And it's another place where you could see maybe some kind of rapid change. All of these apparently stable regimes have some very fundamental, you know, profound flaws. And that includes Russia too, of course.

First of all, I don't find that he fits very easily into any kind of paradigm, you know, like autocrats versus Democrats or whatever you want to look at. There are two things about him that are true. Well, there are a lot of things about him that are true, but at least two things are true at once. One, that he is, he intends to rule Israel forever if he can.