Last weekend, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former al Qaeda affiliate with a base in northwest Syria, launched a surprise offensive. The rebels captured Syria’s second-largest city, Aleppo, and headed toward Homs and Hama, two major population centers. The weekend’s battles mark the first significant shift of battle lines in Syria since 2020. With Russian a ... Show More
May 2025
Babel Special: Jon Alterman's Next Chapter
This week on a special edition of Babel, Will Todman speaks with Jon Alterman, the creator of Babel and the show’s host since it began in 2019. They discuss Jon’s reflections on 22 years directing the CSIS Middle East Program, his analysis of how the Middle East policy ecosystem ... Show More
34m 59s
May 2025
Mohanad Hage Ali: Hezbollah and the Captagon Trade
This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Dr. Mohanad Hage Ali, deputy director for research at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. Mohanad's latest paper for Carnegie investigates the rise of a new form of drug smuggling in Lebanon. Together, they discuss Hezbollah’s i ... Show More
50m 16s
May 2025
Analysis: Will Trump’s Houthi Deal Stick?
On Tuesday, May 6, President Trump declared that the United States would immediately halt its bombing of Houthi targets, bringing an end to months of intensified U.S. strikes across Yemen. The president linked the policy reversal to what he described as the Iran-backed Houthis’ c ... Show More
6m 13s
Dec 2024
Syrian Rebels Take Aleppo: Kalam Digest 16
The ripple effects of Israel's wars in the Middle East are spinning out of control. Just last week, the Islamist Syrian rebel group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) retook the city of Aleppo, the second-largest city in Syria. How did they manage to do so, and how does the severe weake ... Show More
23m 41s
Dec 2024
What is happening in Syria?
Over the past week, Syrian opposition fighters have seized control of Aleppo and advanced further south towards Hama. This unexpected move has reignited what was largely a frozen conflict. In response, the Syrian Army, with support from Russia and reportedly, Iraqi militias, has ... Show More
20m 26s
Dec 2024
Episode 390: The Enemy of my Enemy is my…
<p>Today, Les, Martha, Morgan, and Jeffrey discuss the recent fall of the Syrian city of Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city, to Al-Qaeda-linked rebel forces, reawakening the long-dormant civil war that began during the Arab Spring in 2011. Syrian and allied Russian forces have r ... Show More
10m 55s
May 2019
Intensifying Fighting in Syria Suggests a New Phase of the War
<p>Over the last several weeks an estimated 140,000 people have been displaced by escalating fighting in Idlib, Syria. </p> <div>Syrian regime forces, backed by Russia, have scaled up their attacks in what is the last part of Syria controlled by rebel forces. </div> <div> </div> ... Show More
21m 27s
Dec 2024
The Fall of Assad & What it Means for The Mid East (w/ Alastair Crooke) | The Chris Hedges Report
<p>The fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, ending a 55-year dynasty begun by his father, dramatically shifts the pieces on the chessboard of the Middle East. The rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led by Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, is armed and backed by Turkey and was onc ... Show More
1h 10m