I'm John Batchel. I welcome my longtime good colleague, Jonathan Shancer, the executive director of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracy,

because we're looking at the Middle East and finding doubts and fears everywhere.

You would expect, given the level of violence having been turned way down, that there's an improvement.

However, over these last days, I've learned that Syria, for example, is a problem that is growing, despite the claims of

well-meaning people, that it's stabilizing and that there's reason for optimism. So we begin with

Syria because all the questions I've had over

these last days abide there. Jonathan, a very good evening to you. The man named Alshara is

the self-named president of Syria, and he's been clasped and endorsed by major powers. The United

States and Riyadh in the region. Other voices have come in treating Al-Shara

as a salvation in some fashion, a man who saw better of him of the future than being an al-Qaeda

operative and has now restored credibility to the Damascus administration, so much so that there

are sanctions being lifted. However,

over these last months, we've seen repeated violations of what you'd have to say was comity.

The attack on the Aloitites on the coast during the winter of 25. The attack on the Druze

over the months in 25. Now the offensive against the Kurds who are U.S. allies, pushing them back from one

and another province, making threats against the Kurds.

It's all very odd for a country that is said to be stabilizing and where there's investments

being discussed.

Can you help me understand how Alshara is viewed

in Washington, in Riyadh, and in Jerusalem? Good evening to you, Jonathan. Good evening, John.

Well, I think we can start with where the White House has been on this, and that is rather sanguine.

I think what we've seen specifically out of Ambassador Tom Barrack,

...