The Syrian Cataclysm
The Political Scene | The New Yorker
The New Yorker
4.3 • 3.9K Ratings
🗓️ 5 January 2017
⏱️ 17 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Last month, after five years of civil war, the Assad regime defeated rebel forces in Aleppo. Jon Lee Anderson joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss a conflict that has resulted so far in the deaths of some four hundred thousand Syrians, and the displacement of nearly half the country’s population. Could the United States have made a difference, and what challenges does the Trump Administration face in the region?
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| 1:11.9 | This is the political scene, a weekly conversation with New Yorker writers and editors about politics. |
| 1:17.9 | It's Thursday, January 5th. I'm Dorothy Wickenden, executive editor of The New Yorker. |
| 1:23.6 | Back in May 2011, Barack Obama spoke at the State Department of the extraordinary change across the Middle East, offering a strong warning to President Assad of Syria. |
| 1:34.7 | The Syrian people have shown their courage in demanding a transition to democracy. |
| 1:40.3 | President Assad now has a choice. He can lead that transition or get out of the way. |
| 1:46.0 | The Syrian government must stop shooting demonstrators and allow peaceful protests. |
| 1:52.0 | They must release political prisoners and stop unjust arrests. |
| 1:56.0 | They must allow human rights monitors to have access to cities like Dara |
| 2:00.0 | and start a serious dialogue |
| 2:03.0 | to advance a democratic transition. Otherwise, President Assad and his regime will continue |
| 2:08.5 | to be challenged from within and will continue to be isolated abroad. |
| 2:14.5 | This week, after five years of civil war, rebel forces in Aleppo were defeated by the Assad regime. |
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