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![]() ![]() ![]() Section 6: International Subject: Saudi Arabia (and Syria) Msg# 1225370
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Recall that Syria's former leader, Assad, who pushed Syria's own civil war as well as military interference in Lebanon is now gone. And the country's new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has been aligning with the peaceful mid-eastern countries, including Saudi Arabian officials.
Oh, you mean this guy: Who Is Al-Sharaa? Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, is the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) which has its roots in Islamist militant group al-Qaeda. In 2017, The U.S. put a $10 million bounty on Jolani's head under its "Rewards for Justice Program" when he was a leader of the group formerly known as the Nusra Front and accused by the U.S. State Department of multiple terrorist attacks in Syria. In a 2021 PBS interview, Jolani said he was born in 1982 in Saudi Arabia and raised in Damascus's Mezzeh district. His jihadist path began in Iraq with ties to the Islamic State. He joined foreign fighters after the 2003 U.S. invasion and was jailed for a time at the US-run Camp Bucca, where he met slain ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who later encouraged him to found al-Nusra in Syria. In 2013, Jolani turned away from Baghdadi and pledged loyalty to al-Qaeda. He cut ties with that group in 2016, renaming his group Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, then HTS. Despite the break from al-Qaeda—more political than ideological—and multiple rebranding efforts, HTS remains a designated terrorist organization by the United Nations, United States, Britain and others, with Western and Arab states voicing skepticism about how far it had really changed. In a CNN interview after ousting Assad, al-Sharaa reassured religious minorities, stating that "sectarian extremism is a delusion that must be eliminated." He called for a realistic solution where "no group can cancel another," with rights protected by law. But killings of some religious minorities under Sharaa's leadership as a well as continuation of hardline Islamic rhetoric and practices among his followers have fueled concerns among minority groups. PS Sites that charge bucks should be nixed here, IMO. Try for alternatives. I'm not sure what you mean. The links I post do not have pay walls. |
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For reference, the above message is a reply to a message where: Seems the lifting of sanctions against Syria has much more support than your source mentions. (perhaps as it's a $$ site) More inclusive views & reports include CNN & others: Headlines: Trump announces plan to lift punishing sanctions on Syria Click Here What would lifting US sanctions on Syria mean to the war-torn country? Click Here Experts react: Trump just announced the removal of all US sanctions on Syria. Click Here Recall that Syria's former leader, Assad, who pushed Syria's own civil war as well as military interference in Lebanon is now gone. And the country's new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has been aligning with the peaceful mid-eastern countries, including Saudi Arabian officials. Its very apparent that humanitarian benefits would be promoted from lifting the punishing sanctions which had begun in 1979, and were made more strict in 2003 and 2019. Removal will help restore access to fuel, essential medicines, supplies, and equipment. Both the UK and the European Union have lifted some, but not all, of their sanctions on Syria earlier this year. Two senators from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee — Repub. Jim Risch and Dem. Jeanne Shaheen — had encouraged the lifting before Trump’s trip. Lifting the sanctions would help Syrian interests become more aligned with the US and with other peace-loving allied middle-eastern nations. And thus, the waring factions of Iran would become more isolated. Seems this could become another positive step in international affairs for Trump. PS Sites that charge bucks should be nixed here, IMO. Try for alternatives.
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