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Welcome to the PDB Situation Report.

I'm Mike Baker.

Your eyes and ears on the world stage this weekend coming to you from the Middle East.

Let's get briefed. We're starting things off in Syria, where the fall of President Assad has dramatically

shifted power dynamics in the Middle East. We'll be joined by Brian Carter of the American Enterprise

Institute for more on that. Plus, we'll take a look at China's latest military exercises around

Taiwan, and there have been a number of them, which are among the

largest in decades, with nearly 100 vessels mobilized. That's a lot of vessels. Okay, joining us to

break down the implications is senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation and a good friend

Steve Yates. But first, today's situation report spotlight. Just last week,

we were discussing on this program the astonishing speed of the rebel advance in Syria. And then,

just one day after that episode aired, the Assad regime fell. Overnight, rebel forces stormed

Damascus, toppling Bashar al-Assad's government,

and ending over 50 years of authoritarian rule by the Assad family. And might I add, brutal rule.

The embattled leader fled to Moscow as his grip on power collapsed and is reportedly now

shacking up with his best friend of Vladimir Putin.

Now with the Assad dynasty gone, Syria stands at a crossroads. It's fate in the hands of a

...