This gives me hope.

This is my first op-ed and I struggled to condense all my thoughts on this matter in a short piece, but I would welcome the opportunity to debate and discuss this further in the future.

This is a pretty petty point, but I wonder if Hafez will be allowed to change his dissertation's dedication:

“To the martyrs of the Syrian Arab Army, without whose selfless sacrifices none of us would exist.”

This made me laugh out loud.

Everything coming out of Syria right now indicates that it won't be, particularly given that it looks like HTS wants to allow for some bureaucratic continuity. Of course, the next few months will be challenging and there's still the possibility that Syria could head down a very dark path.

Deep suspicion is needed at this time and beneficial. I view them with suspicion as well, as I view pretty much all political actors and groups. That said, all signs so far point to an attempt to maintain stability through inclusion. But, it must remain in their interest to be inclusive.

coming day

The fact SAA's morale was low was common knowledge. Morale among Syrians in Assad controlled areas has generally been low in recent years. I don't have insider knowledge wrt HTS, but those I've spoken to who do indicated they were optimistic, but that their success exceeded their expectations.

Ultimately, and unfortunately, it is foreign actors that will play the predominant role in negotiations. This, hopefully, can be leveraged to incidentally negotiate a settlement that is beneficial for Syrians; but, it is the protection of foreign interests that will be the focus.