Michael Weiss

And over time, he decided not only would he break with ISIS and create his own show in Syria, which was known as Jabhat al-Nusra, but when Jabhat al-Nusra became an al-Qaeda franchise, he played similar games with Ayman al-Zawahiri, the head of al-Qaeda after bin Laden's death. And what had started as a kind of public relations gambit on breaking with al-Qaeda actually became a legitimate...

rupture with Al-Qaeda. Now, the U.S. sanctioned HTS and Jolani. There's a bounty on his head because they don't trust him and they think that this guy's a terrorist. But it gets complicated because HTS has fought the actual Al-Qaeda franchise in Syria, known as Houthis al-Din, and he has gone to war with ISIS many times.

rupture with Al-Qaeda. Now, the U.S. sanctioned HTS and Jolani. There's a bounty on his head because they don't trust him and they think that this guy's a terrorist. But it gets complicated because HTS has fought the actual Al-Qaeda franchise in Syria, known as Houthis al-Din, and he has gone to war with ISIS many times.

rupture with Al-Qaeda. Now, the U.S. sanctioned HTS and Jolani. There's a bounty on his head because they don't trust him and they think that this guy's a terrorist. But it gets complicated because HTS has fought the actual Al-Qaeda franchise in Syria, known as Houthis al-Din, and he has gone to war with ISIS many times.

So there's this weird thing where a jihadist is fighting transnational terrorists that we're more concerned about than some, you know, scruffy little Syrian national jihadist organization, which perhaps is not so scruffy anymore, thanks to many years of indulgence by Turkey and the fact that, you

So there's this weird thing where a jihadist is fighting transnational terrorists that we're more concerned about than some, you know, scruffy little Syrian national jihadist organization, which perhaps is not so scruffy anymore, thanks to many years of indulgence by Turkey and the fact that, you

So there's this weird thing where a jihadist is fighting transnational terrorists that we're more concerned about than some, you know, scruffy little Syrian national jihadist organization, which perhaps is not so scruffy anymore, thanks to many years of indulgence by Turkey and the fact that, you

evolved in the sense that he understands the way to win hearts and minds in Syria and to do the kind of state building enterprise that bin Laden and Baghdadi could never achieve because they were too brutal or backward, requires a softer touch. So I would say that what HTS is like is the Taliban, right?

evolved in the sense that he understands the way to win hearts and minds in Syria and to do the kind of state building enterprise that bin Laden and Baghdadi could never achieve because they were too brutal or backward, requires a softer touch. So I would say that what HTS is like is the Taliban, right?

evolved in the sense that he understands the way to win hearts and minds in Syria and to do the kind of state building enterprise that bin Laden and Baghdadi could never achieve because they were too brutal or backward, requires a softer touch. So I would say that what HTS is like is the Taliban, right?

They are an authoritarian, Salafist organization, but they legitimately want to govern and they want to have an administrative capacity. So Jolani has seen Assad's

They are an authoritarian, Salafist organization, but they legitimately want to govern and they want to have an administrative capacity. So Jolani has seen Assad's

They are an authoritarian, Salafist organization, but they legitimately want to govern and they want to have an administrative capacity. So Jolani has seen Assad's

hollow shell of a regime over the last several years and been champing at the bit to go on the offensive and to take him on because of events in the Levant, particularly, as I mentioned earlier, the weakening of Iran's strategic project because of Russia being distracted.

hollow shell of a regime over the last several years and been champing at the bit to go on the offensive and to take him on because of events in the Levant, particularly, as I mentioned earlier, the weakening of Iran's strategic project because of Russia being distracted.

hollow shell of a regime over the last several years and been champing at the bit to go on the offensive and to take him on because of events in the Levant, particularly, as I mentioned earlier, the weakening of Iran's strategic project because of Russia being distracted.

They still have plenty of military assets in place in Syria, but Putin isn't all in in Syria anymore because he's got bigger fish to fry in Ukraine. Jelani sensed an opportunity. Turkey, for several months, kept him at bay. Don't go on the offensive. Why? In the midst of all of this, Turkey and Syria have been engaged in a kind of pas de deux of reconciliation talks.

They still have plenty of military assets in place in Syria, but Putin isn't all in in Syria anymore because he's got bigger fish to fry in Ukraine. Jelani sensed an opportunity. Turkey, for several months, kept him at bay. Don't go on the offensive. Why? In the midst of all of this, Turkey and Syria have been engaged in a kind of pas de deux of reconciliation talks.

They still have plenty of military assets in place in Syria, but Putin isn't all in in Syria anymore because he's got bigger fish to fry in Ukraine. Jelani sensed an opportunity. Turkey, for several months, kept him at bay. Don't go on the offensive. Why? In the midst of all of this, Turkey and Syria have been engaged in a kind of pas de deux of reconciliation talks.

Turkey wants to make a deal with Assad, whereby Assad and Turkey jointly, but really Turkey leading the charge, eliminate the PKK as a threat to the Turkish border region, right? And for several months, actually several years, since about 2017, the Russians have brokered negotiations.