“The double face of Syrian Islamists”

A dictator has fallen, torturer and murderer of his own people, quite lucky to have saved his skin thanks to his Russian friends. We are not going to mourn Bashar al-Assad, heir to a bloodthirsty dynasty, at a time when Syrians are exulting at being freed from his tyranny. For the first time in half a century, they have the right to dream. But this is the Middle East, and things can always get worse.

Between his past as a furious jihadist and his recent professions of faith as savior of the nation, the new strongman of Damascus presents the double face of a Janus. Ahmed al-Chareh, alias al-Joulani by his nom de guerre, took off his turban and swapped his fatigues for a blazer to make a good impression. His lightning conquest of Damascus was not accompanied by any massacre or exodus – quite the contrary, since Syrian refugees are returning en masse to their country. Of which act.

Vigilance and measures to avoid the worst

But the challenge that awaits him is immeasurable. How to govern Syria…