David Daoud

He's claiming there's going to be punishment. Again, it's hard to tell if this is some kind of post facto covering of one's rear end by Ahmad al-Sharaq or if he genuinely, you know, if this is something that just got out of hand and he's trying to put a lid on it.

He's claiming there's going to be punishment. Again, it's hard to tell if this is some kind of post facto covering of one's rear end by Ahmad al-Sharaq or if he genuinely, you know, if this is something that just got out of hand and he's trying to put a lid on it.

He's claiming there's going to be punishment. Again, it's hard to tell if this is some kind of post facto covering of one's rear end by Ahmad al-Sharaq or if he genuinely, you know, if this is something that just got out of hand and he's trying to put a lid on it.

I mean, look, HTS themselves are not jihadists, right? So they're all kind of a collection of jihadists. It really depends on how much he can get them to accept this new reality in Syria.

I mean, look, HTS themselves are not jihadists, right? So they're all kind of a collection of jihadists. It really depends on how much he can get them to accept this new reality in Syria.

I mean, look, HTS themselves are not jihadists, right? So they're all kind of a collection of jihadists. It really depends on how much he can get them to accept this new reality in Syria.

If, and again, this is a big if, if we take him at face value that he has changed, that he wants to be the leader and president of all Syrians to usher in a new civil state in Syria, the statements he's made since taking power, How these people signed up to fight for different reasons, how much can he get them on board with this new project called post-revolutionary Syria remains a question.

If, and again, this is a big if, if we take him at face value that he has changed, that he wants to be the leader and president of all Syrians to usher in a new civil state in Syria, the statements he's made since taking power, How these people signed up to fight for different reasons, how much can he get them on board with this new project called post-revolutionary Syria remains a question.

If, and again, this is a big if, if we take him at face value that he has changed, that he wants to be the leader and president of all Syrians to usher in a new civil state in Syria, the statements he's made since taking power, How these people signed up to fight for different reasons, how much can he get them on board with this new project called post-revolutionary Syria remains a question.

Like you noted, they're all there for different reasons. I think if he can offer them different incentives or maybe if he's trying to offer them different incentives to bring them in line, kind of a carrot and a stick.

Like you noted, they're all there for different reasons. I think if he can offer them different incentives or maybe if he's trying to offer them different incentives to bring them in line, kind of a carrot and a stick.

Like you noted, they're all there for different reasons. I think if he can offer them different incentives or maybe if he's trying to offer them different incentives to bring them in line, kind of a carrot and a stick.

There was talk, for example, of the foreign fighters, the Uyghurs, the Chechens, of offering them Syrian citizenship for having fought on behalf of Syria, that they would lay down their arms and integrate into Syrian society. Is that something that they would accept? I don't know.

There was talk, for example, of the foreign fighters, the Uyghurs, the Chechens, of offering them Syrian citizenship for having fought on behalf of Syria, that they would lay down their arms and integrate into Syrian society. Is that something that they would accept? I don't know.

There was talk, for example, of the foreign fighters, the Uyghurs, the Chechens, of offering them Syrian citizenship for having fought on behalf of Syria, that they would lay down their arms and integrate into Syrian society. Is that something that they would accept? I don't know.

Would they accept the very notion of having fought what, in their mind, it could have been a religious war, now transitioning to a post-revolutionary state building exercised Again, those are question marks. I don't know what you could offer someone who is that much of an ideologue to say, we're laying down the weapons. The holy war is over.

Would they accept the very notion of having fought what, in their mind, it could have been a religious war, now transitioning to a post-revolutionary state building exercised Again, those are question marks. I don't know what you could offer someone who is that much of an ideologue to say, we're laying down the weapons. The holy war is over.

Would they accept the very notion of having fought what, in their mind, it could have been a religious war, now transitioning to a post-revolutionary state building exercised Again, those are question marks. I don't know what you could offer someone who is that much of an ideologue to say, we're laying down the weapons. The holy war is over.

Now we get down to the nitty gritty, mundane, banal business of state building. And that state will include people that... have religious beliefs that you don't like and who may be outside of the ambit of acceptability according to Islamic law. And that just has to be the case. So it depends on whether he can mobilize his carrots and sticks properly against these groups to get them in line.

Now we get down to the nitty gritty, mundane, banal business of state building. And that state will include people that... have religious beliefs that you don't like and who may be outside of the ambit of acceptability according to Islamic law. And that just has to be the case. So it depends on whether he can mobilize his carrots and sticks properly against these groups to get them in line.