Assad Toppled by Syrian Rebels in a Tectonic Shift for the Middle East w_ James Dorsey

The Turbulent World with James M. Dorsey

On this edition of Parallax Views, Bashar al-Assad has fled Syria as the country's rebels have taken over the capital, Damascus. Assad has been President of Syria since 2000. His toppling at the hands of Syrian rebels, most notably Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham led by Abu Mohammed al-Golani, represents a historic moment both for Syria, which has been ravaged by a civil war since March 2011, and the wider Middle East. What does this mean for all the various players in the region such as Iran, Turkey, the U.S., Russia, the Kurds, Islamic State, and, perhaps most importantly, Syria itself? In order to answer some of these questions, journalist, scholar, and frequent Parallax Views guest James M. Dorsey returned to the program to unpack this historic moment. We'll discuss the potential scenarios for Syria's future, the question of HTS and its relationship to ultra-conservative Sunni Islam, jihadism, the winners and losers in this moment of Syria's history, the Syrian Civil War, Obama's record in Syria, U.S. President-elect Trump's comments that the U.S. should not get involved in Syria going forward, and much, much more!