The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer

  Credit: Firstpost By James M. Dorsey Hi and welcome. if you appreciate this type of content, consider upgrading to a paid subscription, to help ensure that independent journalism and analysis survive. Without your support this kind of hard-hitting, fact-based analysis would not be possible.   To watch a video version of this story   or   listen to an audio podcast click  here .    Thank you for your support and loyalty.    Syrian rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, aka Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, appears to be a man who picks his battles. Speaking at a Damascus mosque, Mr. Al-Jolani, a one-time jihadist with a history as an Al Qaeda and the Islamic State operative and a $10 million US bounty on his head, suggested Syrians were exhausted, focused on reconstructing their war-ravaged country, and unprepared for another war. “The country is moving towards development and reconstruction. It’s going towards stability. People are exhausted from war. So...

  By James M. Dorsey Hi and welcome. if you appreciate this type of content, consider upgrading to a paid subscription, to help ensure that independent journalism and analysis survive. Without your support this kind of hard-hitting, fact-based analysis would not be possible.   To watch a video version of this story   or   listen to an audio podcast click  here .    Thank you for your support and loyalty.    Policymakers in Tehran and Moscow are asking who lost Syria in a tectonic rewrite of the Middle East’s geopolitical map that has ousted President Bashar al-Assad ‘s principal backers struggling to limit their losses. Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to preempt the debate by firing Lt.  Gen. Sergei Kisel , the commander of Russian forces in Syria, as soon as the rebels broke out of their northern enclave of Idlib and captured Aleppo , Syria’s second-largest city. Similarly, Iran quickly contacted the rebels to prevent what...

  Credit: monetcontrolcom By James M. Dorsey Hi and welcome. if you appreciate this type of content, consider upgrading to a paid subscription, to help ensure that independent journalism and analysis survive. Without your support this kind of hard-hitting, fact-based analysis would not be possible.   To watch a video version of this story   or   listen to an audio podcast click  here .    Thank you for your support and loyalty.    Ahmed al Shara, aka Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, would like you to think he is a changed man. These days, Mr. Al-Jolani, a 41-year-old one-time Al Qaeda and Islamic State operative with a $10 million US bounty on his head, no longer spews jihadist fire and brimstone. Instead, he preaches pluralism, religious tolerance, diversity, and forgiveness as his Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebels take control of Damascus, the Syrian capital. With the departure to Moscow of toppled President Bashar al-Assad, ending the Assad fa...