Assad
Assad’s Captagon Wager
The Assad regime’s manipulation of the Captagon trade, combining industrial-scale production with carefully crafted counternarcotics rhetoric, staged seizures and inflated statistics, gave the illusion of a crackdown. But the regime’s reliance on Captagon to reinforce its hold on power prompted a backlash from neighboring states and hastened its collapse.
The Night Assad Fell
The Syrian regime’s fall just over a month ago was met with excitement, joy, trepidation and anxiety. Three Syrians speak of the complex emotions they felt on that fateful night.
The Assads’ Domination of Qardaha
The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime ignited a dramatic act of defiance in his hometown, Qardaha, where locals burned an Assad family mausoleum, revealing complex feelings of anger and betrayal that go beyond politics.
Assad’s Fall Sparks Fear and Reflection in Egypt
Amid Egypt's political divides and economic struggles, the fall of Assad has sparked deep reflection and fear that similar events could unfold in the country.
Syria’s New Era and Its Opportunities for the US
The U.S. is right to be engaging in dialogue with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the group currently dominant in Syria. Engagement, not isolation, is the way to ensure that a new Syrian government is inclusive for all Syrians and provides the country with services and security.
A Firsthand Account of the Liberation of Damascus
The Assad regime purposely withdrew from Damascus hours before the arrival of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. They wanted Damascus to be looted and torched. Yet this did not happen, and those now in charge of the country have been keeping order and reopening businesses and schools, as Syria begins to move forward.
The Fall of ‘Mr. President’s Province’
Decades of Assad family rule ended abruptly, leaving Syrians in shock, disbelief, jubilation and confusion. As opposition forces filled the power vacuum, and amid lingering sectarian fears and competing visions for the future, Syrians faced an uncertain path toward rebuilding and potential political transformation.