This is CBS Eye on the World. Here's John Batchelor.

I welcome Bill Rajov, the Foundation for the Defense of Democracy, keeps the Long War Journal,

and Ambassador Hussain O'Conley of the Hudson Institute, former ambassador from Pakistan to the United States.

Within these last hours, NPR reporting, the United States has made, quote, direct contact with the Syrian rebel group, Hayat Tarir al-Sham.

U.S. Secretary of State Blinken said during a press conference at Akaba Jordan, the quote,

we've been in contact with HTS and with other parties. Bill, I come to you because you have a very

helpful posting at Long War Journal about Hayt Terir al-Sham and its allies all part of the movement over these last two weeks

to drive Assad, the dictator and his entourage out of Damascus, and now in Damascus are men entirely

associated with al-Qaeda at some point in their careers.

How do you hear the direct contact between the U.S. State Department

and what looks to me to be a malage of al-Qaeda?

Good evening to you, Bill.

Good evening, John.

Yes, this is, I would say I'm shocked, but I'm not after what we witnessed with both under the Trump and the Biden administration in Afghanistan and how they both negotiated with and relied on the Taliban in Afghanistan.

You know, we, the U.N. policymakers, they're looking for answers,

and sometimes there's no answers to be had.

In this case, in the case of Afghanistan,

we needed a moderate Taliban to withdraw,

so we accept the Taliban's lies.

In the case of Syria,

we're trying to accept the reality that the

Hayat Tahir al-Sharm, which if it's not a direct al-Qaeda affiliate, it's al-Qaeda allied or

...