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Fox News
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
MORNING GLORY: A triumphant trip for Trump
President Donald Trump's tour of the Middle East would receive an A+ with an asterisk from any objective observer. The asterisk is because of his meeting with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa. The former Al Qaeda member battled and probably killed American troops in Iraq. The 42-year-old did time in Abu Graib prison and has been fighting the now-toppled Assad regime for years. Syria has become, in effect, three statelets on its way to perhaps four or five, but al-Sharaa runs much of Damascus and its suburbs. From that position of strength he can block Iran from resupplying the Hezbollah forces in Lebanon —a very good result for Lebanon and the region. Trump met with al-Assad at the request of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ("MBS") and Turkey's President Recep Erdogan. According to the U.S. "readout" of the meeting, the U.S. president demanded the Syrian warlord deport Palestinian terrorists, sign the Abraham Accords recognizing Israel's right to exist, exile all other foreign terrorists from the portions of Syria he controls, and battle ISIS where it remains in Syria. That's a good set of "asks" by Trump. If Trump's conditions are met, remove the asterisk. Time will tell and not weeks or even months. If al-Shaara wants to stand up his own statelet, he will invite the U.S. to remove or destroy the chemical weapons depots that still exist in the hidden caches maintained by the Assad regime from the time when Barack Obama caved on his own "red line" in exchange for a half-hearted effort by Russia to remove some of the deadly weapons. If Israel and Syria achieve a cold peace much less a warm one, more kudos to President Trump. The Middle East is being remade and Trump is poised to knock Iran off its remaining claim to power in the region if the mullahs in Tehran don't see reason. The U.S. and Israel can conduct the operations necessary to cripple Ayatollah Khamenei's dreams of a nuclear weapon without committing the U.S. to a war, and the president has said Iran has one of two choices at least a dozen times and without any ambiguity, including to me on air. "I would much prefer a strong, verified deal where we actually blow them up, but blow them up or just de-nuke them," Trump told me. "But the other alternative, there are only two alternatives there – blow them up nicely or blow them up viciously." That's tough talk, but Trump is a tough negotiator and his record of follow-through on threats made to foreign powers speaks for itself. With every Gulf nation seated at a circular table when Trump sat down with the Gulf Cooperation Council, the president repeated the same, stark choice before Khamenei, added in Iran's abandonment of terror and added for good measure the Palestinian leadership's renunciation of "rape, torture and murder," and explicitly demanded the release of the hostages as a "stepping stone" to peace, not part of a deal. Trump, in short, was at his bluntest best. The economic deals he signed are enormous and the potential for "AI" partnerships with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are powering a surge in optimism for "AI"-based equities as the quartet of the U.S.-Israel-the Kingdom—U.A.E. Is impossible to top when it comes to a joint venture on anything, but especially for breakout "AI" advances. The other deals with American defense firms are great for that sector of our economy, its employees and shareholders in the U.S., and world stability that depends on a strong America with well-trained and equipped allies. Check and check. Trump's always "outside-the-box" when it comes to diplomacy. That's why the U.S. embassy is in Jerusalem and the Abraham Accords exist. Trump doesn't play by Council on Foreign Relations rules because he's not interested in its seminars and the approval of its senior fellows but in creating seminal moments. Last week's trip was one of the latter. Hugh Hewitt is a Fox News contributor, and host of "The Hugh Hewitt Show" heard weekday afternoons 3 PM to 6 PM ET on the Salem Radio Network, and simulcast on Salem News Channel. Hugh wakes up America on over 400 affiliates nationwide, and on all the streaming platforms where SNC can be seen. He is a frequent guest on the Fox News Channel's news roundtable hosted by Bret Baier weekdays at 6pm ET. A son of Ohio and a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Michigan Law School, Hewitt has been a Professor of Law at Chapman University's Fowler School of Law since 1996 where he teaches Constitutional Law. Hewitt launched his eponymous radio show from Los Angeles in 1990. Hewitt has frequently appeared on every major national news television network, hosted television shows for PBS and MSNBC, written for every major American paper, has authored a dozen books and moderated a score of Republican candidate debates, most recently the November 2023 Republican presidential debate in Miami and four Republican presidential debates in the 2015-16 cycle. Hewitt focuses his radio show and his column on the Constitution, national security, American politics and the Cleveland Browns and Guardians. Hewitt has interviewed tens of thousands of guests from Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Kerry to Republican Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump over his 40 years in broadcasting. This column previews the lead story that will drive his radio/tv show today.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
From al-Qaeda to Syria's presidency, the rise of Ahmad al-Sharaa
He's a former al-Qaeda insurgent who fought against U.S. forces in Iraq and served time in the infamous Abu Ghraib prison. Still, on Wednesday, new Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa stood on the world stage shaking hands with President Donald Trump and achieving a major feat for his fledgling administration. Trump announced he would lift the crippling U.S. sanctions against Syria and urged al-Sharaa to meet specified conditions in hopes that it will stabilize the country. These conditions include normalizing relations with Syria's neighbors, including Israel, as well as the United States. Syria's civil war ended in December when al-Sharaa and a band of rebel fighters overthrew the government of strongman Bashar al-Assad. Since then, al-Sharaa has been working to form a new government, band together rival rebel groups inside Syria, quell infighting among former Assad-regime loyalists and establish a diplomatic presence on the world stage, ABC News has reported. "There was always the potential that once a power vacuum was created, it would be filled by someone who was associated with one of the more extremist or terrorist related groups," said John Cohen, a former Department of Homeland Security undersecretary of intelligence. But Cohen, an ABC News contributor, said the United States has no choice but to engage with al-Sharaa, explaining that a stable Syria is vital to the entire Middle East region. "We have to engage," Cohen said. "There are other powers, like China and Russia, who would be more than happy to assert geopolitical control over the region. So, it's in our interest not to have that occur." In a speech to his country after assuming the presidency, al-Sharaa spoke about uniting his country, saying that "together we can open a new chapter in the history of our beloved land." "From here, I address you today in my capacity as president of Syria in this fateful period, asking God to grant us all success so we can revive our homeland, and overcome the challenges that we are facing, and that will only be through all standing together in people and leadership," al-Sharaa said in the January speech. Al-Sharaa said he planned to form an inclusive government, "reflecting Syria's diversity in its men, women and youth." He also said he intends to build new Syrian institutions "so that we can reach a stage of free and impartial elections." "I address you today not as a ruler but as a servant for our wounded homeland, striving with all power and will I have been given to realize Syria's unity and renaissance, as we should all understand that this is a transitional stage, and it is part of a political process that requires true participation by all Syrian men and women, inside and outside the country, so that we can build their future with freedom and dignity, without marginalization or sidelining," he said. The 42-year-old al-Sharaa was born in Saudi Arabia to a family that was originally from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. He grew up in Damascus, the capital of Syria, according to Thomas Warrick, an international lawyer and a former Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary for counterterrorism. "He was a quiet boy, studious and very intelligent, according to all the reports we received about him when he was a terrorist leader," said Warrick, now a nonresident senior fellow in Middle East programs for the Atlantic Council, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington, D.C. Unlike some terrorist leaders -- including Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the late leader of the Islamic State jihadist group, and Ayman al-Zawahiri, the late al-Qaeda chief and accused plotter of the 9/11 terrorist attacks -- al-Sharaa has not been known as a charismatic leader, said Warrick. "He doesn't attract fanatical followers in quite the same way that those terrorist leaders did, and he's certainly not known as a religious scholar like Anwar al Awlaki of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was," said Warrick, who has worked under the administrations of Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and under Donald Trump during his first term in the White House. As a young man, al-Sharaa joined al-Qaeda following the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, said Warrick. "Right after the invasion of Iraq, he fought for them. He said he was a foot soldier," Warrick said. After joining al-Qaeda, al-Sharaa adopted the name Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, Warrick said, adding that the al-Jolani part of his pseudonym in Arabic means "of the Golan," a reference to where his family originated. While fighting for al-Qaeda in Iraq, al-Sharaa was captured by U.S. military forces and imprisoned at Abu Ghraib and other detention sites, according to Warrick. Sometime after U.S. forces began to pull out of Iraq in 2007, al-Sharaa was released from prison and returned to Syria, Warrick said. In Syria, al-Sharaa founded and led the al-Qaeda affiliate organization al-Nusrah Front, Warrick said. Al-Sharaa later had a falling out with al-Baghdadi over the al-Qaeda leader's decision to form an Islamic territorial caliphate, according to Warrick. MORE: Who are the Syrian rebels that have toppled Assad and taken Damascus? Al-Sharaa then rebranded the al-Nusrah Front as the Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) during Syria's civil war, setting up shop in Idlib in northwestern Syria near the Turkish border, Warrick said. HTS remains on the U.S. State Department's list of foreign terrorist organizations. "But there's a very interesting history from then, partly because of ego, partly because he was ambitious, and he understood economics and how groups like his need to have economic support in order to have power," Warrick said. To generate revenue for his group, Warrick said al-Sharaa began "what would be considered either taxation or extortion" of trucks crossing from Turkey into Syria. "He used taxation to raise money from businesses and anybody who wanted to either transit or stay," Warrick said. "This is what enabled him to become one of the more effective warlords for that part of northwest Syria." During the civil war in Syria, more than 1 million Syrians fled to Turkey, prompting that country's president, Recep Erdogan, to ask al-Assad in mid-2024 for concessions to ease the refugee burden Turkey was experiencing, Warrick said. But a dispute between the two leaders developed when al-Assad refused Erdogan's request, according to Warrick. At the same time, al-Sharaa and other rebel groups opposed to the al-Assad regime came up with a plan to carry out a limited military offensive against the government's forces. With support from Erdogan, according to Warrick, al-Sharaa's organization and other rebel groups were able to overthrow the regime and oust al-Assad from power. In 2018, Trump, during his first term in office, ordered U.S. missile strikes on al-Assad's chemical weapons facilities and ISIS fighters in Syria. The United States also set up a military presence in Syria in early 2016 to train and advise Kurdish and Arab rebel forces fighting ISIS in northern and eastern parts of the country. The U.S. intervention in Syria's civil war, combined with missile strikes on the country by Israel, severely weakened al-Assad's forces by the time al-Sharaa and his rebel group launched their attack in 2024 that would eventually topple the Assad regime. "What nobody really appreciated was how brittle Assad's forces were, and so this 'limited effort' began to become like an avalanche rolling downhill," Warrick said. "It picked up momentum and led al-Sharaa eventually to taking over Damascus within a matter of weeks." The new Syrian leader will attempt to convince Western and European leaders that his days as a terrorist are behind him. With Edogon and the Saudi Crown Prince helping pave his way, al-Sharaa, in just a matter of months, has garnered support and legitimacy from other leaders in the region, including the Emir of Qatar, whom he visited. Getting Trump to lift the sanctions is seen as a major achievement by the Syrian people. But al-Sharaa has major challenges to face, the two biggest being asserting control over all of the Syrian territory, as well as the armed groups that helped him ascend to power. In December, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported that a meeting of the heads of the rebel groups and al-Sharaa "ended in an agreement on the dissolution of all the groups and their integration under the supervision of the Ministry of Defense." However, reports of human rights abuses allegedly carried out by some of the rebel forces during fighting with Assad loyalists have raised questions about the Syrian president's control of these forces. He announced an investigation and vowed to hold accountable anyone responsible for violence against civilians. After meeting with President Trump on Wednesday, al-Sharaa delivered a televised speech to his nation, saying Syria would no longer serve as an arena for foreign struggles, nor would it allow the resurgence of the old regime narrative that divided his country. He signaled that his country is interested in pivoting toward building international partnerships rooted in sovereignty and mutual interest. During the speech, he invited Syrian investors abroad to return to the country and help it rebuild, saying, "Hope in modern Syria has become a tangible reality," and he praised Trump's decision to lift sanctions, calling it "historic and courageous." During Wednesday's meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with al-Sharaa, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Erdogan, who phoned into the meeting, Trump urged al-Sharaa to take five specific actions, according to a readout of the meeting provided by the White House. MORE: Toppling of Syria's Assad most important moment in recent Middle East history: Reporter's notebook The conditions Trump laid out, according to the readout, include deporting Palestinian terrorists, ordering all foreign terrorists to leave Syria, helping the United States prevent a resurgence of ISIS, and signing the Abraham Accords -- a series of agreements formed in 2020 to normalize relations between Israel and several Arab states. Israel occupies a demilitarized buffer zone along the southern Syrian border, and Israeli officials have publicly accused al-Sharaa's Islamist government of targeting the Druze, a minority religious group, south of Damascus. On May 2, Israel bombed an area near the presidential palace in Damascus. In a joint statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the country's Defense Minister, Israel Katz, said the strike was "a clear message to the Syrian regime: We will not allow [Syrian] forces to deploy south of Damascus or any threat to the Druze community." Al-Sharaa's government said the bombing marked "a dangerous escalation." Israel has been hitting Syria in multiple locations since al-Assad's fall in December. Israeli forces have also moved past the demilitarized buffer zone and have publicly said they won't leave the positions they're in currently. Al-Sharaa told Reuters he's been having indirect talks with Israel to ease the violence. He says an investigation is underway in the Druze attack. Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Indiana, who recently traveled to Syria and met with al-Sharaa, told ABC News this week, before Trump decided to lift sanctions, that it was the right move to help Syria recover. "This is an important time to support a government that will not only respect human rights in the country, but respect women's rights, religious rights," Stutzman said. Asked if he believed al-Sharaa is truly interested in uniting the Syrian people, Stutzman said, "I hope so, and we pray so, because of what the Syrian people have been through." "We traveled into the community of Jobar, where there was just billions and billions of dollars of destruction, homes and lives ruined by [Assad]," Stutzman said. "This was a political genocide. It wasn't religious, it wasn't racial, it was strictly political genocide." Stutzman added, "So, I think there's a great opportunity. He's talking to the right people and he's saying the right thing. But obviously his actions are going to speak louder than words at the end of the day." 'Potentially transformative moment' Mathieu Rouquette, country director for Syria for Mercy Corps, a U.S.-based humanitarian organization, said in a statement to ABC News that lifting the sanctions on Syria "marks a potentially transformative moment for millions of Syrians." "This decision, if successfully implemented, could enable broader recovery efforts, help revive markets, mobilize resources for the rehabilitation of heavily damaged or destroyed infrastructure and housing, and give Syrians a long-awaited opportunity to rebuild their lives with dignity," Rouquette said. But Rouquette said what matters most to the Syrian people is whether lifting the sanctions will bring meaningful improvements to their daily life, from access to critical infrastructure, jobs, food and clean water to functioning markets and services. "For organizations like ours, the lifting of sanctions could remove long-standing operational barriers that have hampered recovery programming, aid delivery and local engagement," Rouquette said. "With fewer restrictions on financial transactions and imports, we can more effectively support Syrians to restore livelihoods, revive small businesses, and strengthen local markets. This moment offers a real opportunity to shift from a heavy reliance on aid toward long-term resilience." Following Wednesday's meeting, Trump complimented al-Sharaa while speaking with reporters on Air Force One on his way to Qatar, describing the Syrian leader as a "young, attractive, tough guy. Strong past, very strong past -- fighter." The president added that al-Sharaa has "got a real shot at pulling it together." In a speech he gave at an investment forum in Riyadh before leaving Saudi Arabia, Trump said he would call off the sanctions on Syria to "give them a chance at greatness." On Thursday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani in Turkey and affirmed the United States' support for sanctions relief to stabilize Syria, according to the White House. Rubio, the White House said, welcomed the Syrian government's calls for peace with Israel, efforts to end Iran's influence in Syria and commitment to ascertaining the fate of U.S. citizens missing or killed in Syria. Rubio underscored to al-Shaibani the critical importance of protecting the human rights of all Syrians regardless of ethnicity or religion, the White House said. From al-Qaeda to Syria's presidency, the rise of Ahmad al-Sharaa originally appeared on
Al Arabiya
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Trump says he did not consult with Israel on Syria
President Donald Trump said he did not consult ally Israel about the US decision to recognize Syria's new government, despite deep Israeli suspicion of President Ahmed al-Sharaa's administration. 'I didn't ask them about that. I thought it was the right thing to do. I've been given a lot of credit for doing it. Look, we want Syria to succeed,' Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, shortly after departing Abu Dhabi at the close of a four-day Middle East trip. Trump said on Tuesday he would order the lifting of sanctions on Syria, a major policy shift before meeting al-Sharaa.
The Independent
15-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Trump heaps praise on Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa as he lifts sanctions
Donald Trump met with syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda fighter, marking the first meeting between US and syrian leaders in 25 years. Trump praised al-Sharaa, lifted US sanctions on Syria, and encouraged normalized relations with Israel. Al-Sharaa became Syria's interim president after his group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), ousted the Assad regime. Al-Sharaa's past includes fighting US forces in Iraq and leading the Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria. Despite his past, al-Sharaa has pledged an inclusive government and distanced himself from al-Qaeda.
Japan Times
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Syrian leader's path from global jihad to meeting Trump
Syria's Ahmad al-Sharaa has transformed himself from al-Qaida militant to Syrian president in a dramatic political rise capped on Wednesday by a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. The encounter in Saudi Arabia is a milestone for a man who joined al-Qaida in Iraq around the time of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and spent years in U.S. prison there before returning to Syria to join the insurgency against Bashar Assad. The meeting — following Trump's announcement of an end to U.S. sanctions on Syria — is a huge boost for al-Sharaa as he tries to bring the fractured country under his control and revive its economy, and Trump said he was looking to normalize ties with Damascus. "He's got the potential — he's a real leader," Trump told reporters on Air Force One after meeting al-Sharaa, whom he described as a young, attractive guy with a very strong past. "He's got a real shot at holding it together," Trump said. Syria's new leader took power after his Islamist fighters launched an offensive from their enclave in the northwest in 2024 and toppled Assad, whose allies Russia and Iran were distracted by other wars. He was long better known as Abu Mohammad al-Golani, his nom de guerre as commander of the Nusra Front, an insurgent group fighting Assad and for years al-Qaida's official wing in the conflict. Al-Sharaa speaks during a joint news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris on May 7. | REUTERS He cut ties with al-Qaida in 2016, gradually recasting his group as part of the Syrian revolution rather than global jihad. Swapping combat fatigues for suits and ties after entering Damascus as Syria's de facto ruler in December 2024, al-Sharaa promised to replace Assad's brutal police state with an inclusive and just order. He cited priorities including reuniting Syria, reviving an economy choked by sanctions and bringing arms under state authority. His administration won significant backing from Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. But he has struggled to meet his aims as armed groups kept their weapons, sanctions remained and sectarian killings left minority groups afraid of his rule. Israel, alleging al-Sharaa remains a jihadist, has declared southern Syria off limits to his forces. It said a strike near the presidential palace in Damascus on May 2 was a warning that it would not let Syrian forces deploy south of the capital or allow any threat to Syria's Druze minority. The challenges were demonstrated in March when Assad loyalists attacked government forces in the coastal region, prompting a wave of revenge killing in which Islamist gunmen killed hundreds of civilians from the Alawite minority, from which Assad hailed. It amplified fears about the jihadist roots of Syria's new ruling group despite al-Sharaa's promises of tolerance and accountability for the killings. Fears of a slide back toward authoritarian rule were hardened by a temporary constitution focusing power in his hands. Syria's new leader characterized Assad's defeat as a God-given victory. He sidestepped interviewers' questions on whether he thought Syria should apply Islamic sharia law, saying it was for experts to decide. The temporary constitution strengthened its role. He cited revolutionary legitimacy for his designation as interim president. He has said elections will take place, but that Syria needs up to five years to organize them properly. In an interview at the presidential palace, al-Sharaa underlined his intention to turn the page on Assad's rule. "My chest tightens in this palace. I'm astonished by how much evil against society emanated from every corner," he said. Born in Saudi Arabia, al-Sharaa spent the first years of his life there before moving to Syria. His father was an Arab nationalist, an ideology at odds with his own political Islam. In a 2021 interview with the U.S. Public Broadcasting Service's "FRONTLINE" program, al-Sharaa said he was influenced by the second Palestinian Intifada, or uprising against Israeli occupation, which began in 2000. He returned to Syria from Iraq once the uprising began, sent by the leader of the al-Qaida-affiliated Islamic State group in Iraq at the time, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, to build up al-Qaida's presence. The U.S. designated al-Sharaa a terrorist in 2013, saying al-Qaida in Iraq had tasked him with overthrowing Assad's rule and establishing Islamic sharia law in Syria. It said the Nusra Front had carried out suicide attacks that killed civilians and espoused a violent sectarian vision. Macron (left) and al-Sharaa greet each other after a joint news conference in Paris on May 7. | AFP-JIJI Al-Sharaa gave his first media interview in 2013, his face wrapped in a scarf and showing his back to the camera. He told Al Jazeera that Syria should be run according to sharia law. In his 2021 "FRONTLINE" interview, he faced the camera in a shirt and jacket. He said the terrorist designation was unfair and that he opposed the killing of innocent people. Asked about his views on the Sept. 11 attacks at the time they happened, al-Sharaa said anybody in the Arab or Islamic world who said "he wasn't happy would be lying to you, because people felt the injustice of the Americans in their support of the Zionists, their policies towards Muslims in general, and their clear and strong support of the tyrants in the region." "But people regret the killing of innocent people, for sure," he said. The Nusra Front had never presented a threat to the West, he said. Despite its al-Qaida ties, Nusra was regarded as relatively less heavy-handed in dealings with civilians and other rebel groups than the Islamic State group.
