I'm Christopher Leiden, and this is open source with the one-off diplomat strategist and historian

Chaz Freeman. Call this curious citizen meets the most knowledgeable straight talker anywhere near

the U.S. government. At a turn in the calendar, a transition in American politics, in a global

crisis that can feel like a rolling

nightmare even after the quick, almost bloodless revolt by Syrians against their own deadly

dictatorship.

Chaz Freeman, it's the third year in a row that we've asked you for sort of end-of-the-season

check-up on the American Empire,

and the changing rules of world order.

Start where you will, perhaps with the Syrian surprise,

where, are they enough?

But revealingly, the U.S. Empire met itself coming and going.

It turned out our CIA had been in league with the triumphant rebel,

Al Jolani.

At the same time our State Department had a bounty on the same Jolani's head

for his roots in terrorism and his taste for beheading his enemies.

Did the U.S. government work at cross-purposes like that in your time?

Does it always?

Is this a great country or what? I mean, we can contain contradictions, as Whitman said.

We can do things with our left hands that our right hands don't know about.

In this case, in the case of Syria, what we've

done is really uncertain. We don't know. Mr. Aljolani or Shara is his real name. Ahmet Shara.

...