S8 Ep505: Malcolm Hoenlein and Thaddius McCotter assess the US withdrawal from Syria, leaving minority groups vulnerable while ISIS resurges, while also covering Azerbaijan's regional influence and the stalemate over Hamas disarmament. 6.
The John Batchelor Show
John Batchelor
4.5 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 24 February 2026
⏱️ 8 minutes
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1830 PERSIA
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| 0:00.0 | I'm John Matcher with Thaddez McCarter American Greatness, my colleague and co-host, Malcolm Holine, |
| 0:21.7 | Conference of President's major American Jewish organizations back from on the road. |
| 0:26.2 | Syria, Malcolm. |
| 0:27.6 | Since last we talked, darkness visible has become even more complex because within these last hours, |
| 0:35.8 | the Americans are withdrawing from their bases that along the borderline with Jordan and alongside Syria. |
| 0:44.0 | At the same time, the Kurds, the Syrian defense forces, have withdrawn from major parts of Syria. |
| 0:51.6 | And now we're told the ISIS jails have opened. And ISIS men, women, |
| 0:57.2 | the families, and the fighters are coming out. Their new recruits pouring into the region. |
| 1:02.3 | Meanwhile, back in Damascus, Al-Shara is said to be the president of this successful |
| 1:07.5 | transformation of Syria into a sovereign power. Help me, Malcolm, because this looks |
| 1:14.5 | like the Civil War Part 75. Well, I think you covered, you're rightly describing and covered |
| 1:22.1 | a lot of what the situation is, and it's certainly in flux. And clearly the Shara has charmed the White House and various |
| 1:29.6 | people and the special envoy, Barack. But the truth is that the situation is not as positive |
| 1:35.1 | as it is portrayed. The Kurds, the Drues are in fear. They do not want to give up their weapons |
| 1:42.0 | because they know that there will be massacres as they were. You remember right after he took power, we see the Islamization of some |
| 1:49.5 | of the populations in Damascus, as well as Idlib, where he ruled. He has gone back forth to Washington. |
| 1:58.2 | The population in a survey this week said that many of them wanted to have good |
| 2:03.7 | relations with Israel. In fact, the majority, which was a real change. A lot of them are skeptical |
| 2:10.1 | about the government and whether they can produce an economy that can support the people. Remember, |
| 2:15.2 | you have hundreds of thousands of refugees, et cetera, there. |
| 2:19.0 | And when they look and see that the various Kurdish opposition parties are getting together, |
| 2:23.3 | as they did in Iraqi Kurdistan yesterday and mostly targeting Iran, but it has implications for |
... |
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