Caption
A see-off ceremony for newly recruited soldiers is held on September 16, 2025, in Fuyang, China. (Getty Images)
Middle East
Middle East
Header image
Caption
Syrians living in Turkey celebrate with opposition flags after Syrian rebels announced that they have ousted Bashar al-Assad on December 8, 2024, in Istanbul, Turkey. (Burak Kara via Getty Images)
Caption
A crucifix is pictured outside the Syriac Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in Aleppo, Syria, on December 12, 2024. (Ozan Kose/AFP via Getty Images)
Caption
(Screenshot via Fox Business)
Caption
(Screenshot via Fox News)
Caption
People celebrate at Umayyad Square in Damascus, Syria, on December 8, 2024. (Louai Beshara/AFP via Getty Images)
Caption
Turkish soldiers on a tank sit opposite the town of Ain al-Arab, Syria, on October 11, 2014. (Aris Messinis via Getty Images)
Caption
Israeli soldiers receive a briefing near the border with the Gaza Strip on December 5, 2024, in Southern Israel. (Amir Levy via Getty Images)
Caption
A poison hazard danger sign is seen in the town of Khan Shaykun, Syria, on April 5, 2017. (Ogun Duru/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Caption
(Deep Dive logo)
Caption
Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the leader of Syria's Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, is welcomed by supporters at the capital's landmark Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria, on December 8, 2024. (Abdulaziz Ketaz/AFP via Getty Images)
Caption
A member of the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service raises the victory gesture as others hold upside-down the black flag of the Islamic State in Mosul, Iraq, on June 30, 2017. (Fadel Senna/AFP via Getty Images)
Caption
(Screenshot via YouTube)
Experts
James Barnett
Research Fellow
Michael Doran
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
Douglas J. Feith
Senior Fellow
