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Mike Baker (0:00)
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Terms apply. Visit us cellular.com for details. Here's a recipe for starting your day off right. Step one, get yourself an empty coffee mug. Step two, fill it with Blackout Coffee. That's it. Morning sorted. Blackout Coffee is a terrific family owned American business and they're all about producing premium coffee, fresh roasted and shipped out within 48 hours of roasting. Go to blackout coffee.com promo code BDB for 20% off your first time purchase. It's Monday the 9th of December. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage and coming to you this week from where are we? Oh, the Middle East. Let's get briefed. A historic day in the Middle east as the region comes to terms with the fall of one of the world's longest running family dictatorships. Syrian President Bashar Al Assad has been toppled by rebel forces. He fled the country shortly before the rebels took over Damascus. Later in the show, governments around the world react to the fall of the Assad regime with a mix of, well, let's call it hope and apprehension. We'll break down the response so far. Plus, Ukrainian President Zelensky reveals the military death toll for Ukraine's forces in the Russian invasion as the US Prepares another billion dollar aid package. And in today's back of the Brief, we'll bring you the latest updates on the hunt for the man who killed United Healthcare's CEO in New York City this past week. But first, today's PDP Spotlight. Five decades of Assad family rule came to a crashing halt over the weekend as rebel forces ousted Bashar Al Assad's regime and forced the despot to flee. His decades long grip on power is over, bringing an end to the authoritarian dynasty his father began half a century ago and that was responsible for the death and torture over the decades of hundreds of thousands of Syrians. The collapse unfolded rapidly. On Saturday evening, reports emerged that rebel forces had entered the suburbs of Damascus with claims that President Assad was even reaching out to them in hopes of negotiating an end to the conflict. Yeah, good luck with that. By Sunday morning, it was all over. Rebel forces had seized control and publicly declared victory. The news was first Broadcast on Syrian state television yesterday morning with the nation's most prominent news anchor reading a news bulletin provided by the rebel leaders. It read in part, quote, to those who bet on us and to those who didn't, to those who thought one day that we were broken. We announced to you from the Syrian news channel the victory of the great Syrian revolution after 13 years of patience and sacrifice. Now the leader of the main rebel group, Abu Muhammad Al Jelani, has also made his first statements since arriving in Damascus in a speech delivered inside a mosque in the capital. He called the victory a new chapter in the history of the region. He added that Syria would no longer be a playground for Iranian ambitions, spreading sectarianism and stirring corruption. Syria's Foreign ministry has also released a statement which read, quote, a new page in Syrian history is being written consecrating a national oath and covenant that will bring all Syrians together, end quote. The people who wrote that statement will likely find themselves out of a job very soon. And depending on how things go over the next days and weeks, well, that could be the best scenario that they could hope for. The collapse of Assad's regime was years in the making. After clinging to power through a brutal civil war that began in 2011, in large part due to the backing of Iran and Russia, Assad faced growing dissent at home. Rebel groups, fragmented for much of the conflict, recently coordinated a sweeping offensive, capturing key cities such as Aleppo and Homa before storming Damascus. Crucially, Assad's international allies, particularly Russia, seemed to pull back their support in recent months, leaving his regime increasingly isolated, as opposed to 2015, when Russia and Iran provided significant military resources, personnel, and support in the last major beatdown of the rebels. This time around, both Russia and Iran, well, they're in much different situations. Russia, of course, has been focused on its Ukraine invasion and could ill afford to shift military assets to Syria. Iran now finds its primary proxy, Hezbollah, severely degraded and in no position to provide fighters and resources to Syria as they have in the past. In the hours since the fall of Damascus, videos have emerged of Syrians across the country toppling statues of regime figures, including those of Hafez Al Assad. That's the previous president and father of Bashar al Assad. Meanwhile, Bashar Al Assad's whereabouts were initially unclear, with early speculation that his plane had crashed within Syria. However, Russian state news agencies later revealed that the ousted dictator is currently in Moscow. There's a surprise with his family where he's been granted asylum now. Granting asylum to a brutal dictator responsible for so much death and suffering over the years is entirely on brand for Putin's regime. Reportedly, Moscow explained that they granted Assad asylum for, quote, humanitarian reasons. Well, that joke writes itself. As we've been reporting on the pdb, this marks a major embarrassment for Syria's two primary sponsors, Iran and Russia, both of which appear to have reluctantly accepted the fate and fall of their client. In a statement, Iran's Foreign Ministry reaffirmed its commitment to respecting Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Well, that would be a first, insisting that the Syrian people alone must determine their country's future, free from what it described as, quote, destructive interference or external imposition. And, quote, clearly whoever wrote this in the Iranian Foreign Ministry is a frustrated comedy writer. The statement also emphasized that the Islamic Republic would, quote, spare no effort in supporting efforts to establish security and stability in Syria. Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry has been notably quiet, issuing a brief statement claiming that Assad had left office and departed Syria after issuing orders for a peaceful transfer of power, no doubt setting the stage for its own withdrawal from the country. Reportedly, the Russians have been in discussions with the rebels over the protection of their military bases and embassy. The rebels and population of Damascus took to the streets over the weekend and quickly ransacked Assad's residences, along with the Iranian embassy. Reportedly, the rebels have called on the people to leave government buildings and institutions alone. So what's next for Syria? Well, only one thing is certain here. The country will be operating under a new flag. Across Syria and at embassies abroad. The green, white, and black stripes of the rebels have already begun replacing the red, white, and black of the Assad regime. Now, as we know from recent history, in places such as Iraq and Libya, replacing a despotic dictator can create its own problems. The main rebel group, hts, has its origins years ago with isis. The rebel leader Al Jilani started with isis, later moving to Syria to start up Al Qaeda's branch there. Since roughly 2017, he and his group have reportedly denounced Al Qaeda and have been essentially running their own government in the northern Syrian province of Idlib. Al Jilani claims that they are now a nationalist movement, but whether that's simply a facade or legitimate, well, we'll know that in relatively short order. There are numerous other rebel factions with their own interests, all looking to stake out their own territory that have been cobbled together during this offensive to take over. Whether hts, the main group, is able to stitch the various groups into a cohesive, stable organization capable of providing leadership, well, that's anyone's guess at the moment. And then of course, there's the clown car stuffed with foreign players. Iran, Russia, Turkey and the US all have interests. All have been providing support to the mixed bag of players over the years, and all are equally unsure what to expect next. And not to be an alarmist, but, well, there is the question of Assad's chemical weapons program and inventory. And not to mention, where there's chaos, there tends to be extremists looking to fill the void and take advantage. Iraq is a case study in how not to handle the aftermath of the toppling of a despot. In that case, the immediate aftermath, much like the first days in Damascus, were filled with hope and euphoria, which gave way within months, unfortunately, sadly, to chaos and sectarian violence. Now a major contributor was the dissolution of the Iraqi army, police and government institutions by the US and allies, somehow believing that the removal of existing structure that had operated under Saddam Hussein would be replaced by something better. Instead, well, they created a void that was filled by years of despair, with Syria keeping existing institutions intact while working on reforms to ensure a society that protects and respects all the groups and minorities and persons that make up the Syrian tapestry. Well, that will be critical to future success. Look at me sounding all hopeful. Coming up next, reactions from around the world to the fall of Assad's regime, plus Ukraine's military death toll and the latest US Billion dollar aid package. I'll have those stories when we come back.