Briefings

Background Briefing: December 15, 2024

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Is Another Arab Spring Possible With Syria’s New Leader and the Rise of the Muslim Brotherhood? 

We begin with an analysis of the leader of the new Syria recently freed after 54 years of brutal oppression under the Assad clan, Abu Mohamed al-Jolani, the head of HTS, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (Organization for liberating the Levant). Joining us to discuss the regional impact of this major realignment and where it is heading is David Hearst, the Editor of Middle East Eye who formerly was the chief foreign leader writer of The Guardian and former Associate Foreign Editor, European Editor, Moscow Bureau Chief, European Correspondent, and Ireland Correspondent. He recently attended the meeting of Arab, Iranian and Russian Foreign Ministers in Doha and we will discuss his article at Middle East Eye, “Assad downfall: Is the Arab Spring back from the dead?”

With Trump’s Manic Fanboy Kash Patel in Charge of the Country’s Most Powerful Law Enforcement Agency, Patel’s Delusional List of “Traitors” Will Soon Fill the MAGA Gulag

Then with the endorsement of Kash Patel by Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee to be the next FBI director, we will examine the extraordinary power this manic Trump fanboy will have as the country’s most powerful law enforcement agent to go after Trump’s enemies, having already compiled a delusional list of “traitors” for his MAGA gulag. Joining us is Jason Wilson, a reporter for The Guardian. Based in Portland, Oregon. We discuss his latest article at The Guardian, “Kash Patel’s profitable links in the non-profit world.”

Georgia’s Pro-EU Protests Intensify as the Pro-Russian Parliament Installs a Right Wing Footballer as President

Then finally we go to Georgia where pro-EU protesters have been demonstrating for 17 days against the rigged election that brought in the disputed pro-Russian parliament which just installed a right-wing footballer as the country’s president. Joining us from Tbilisi is Alex Scrivener, the executive director and co-founder of the Democracy Security Institute. Based in Tbilisi, Georgia, he was previously a fellow at the Eurasia Democratic Security Network and has worked for a variety of international, civil society and media organisations in Europe and the region including the BBC, the International Criminal Court, Global Justice Now and the Transnational Institute.