Who Is the Rebel Leader Who Ousted Assad?

The FRONTLINE Dispatch

GBH

News

4.6 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 13 December 2024

⏱️ 20 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On December 8, 2024, Syrian rebels stunned the world when they seized Damascus and toppled the government of Bashar al-Assad, more than 13 years into the country’s brutal war.

Spearheading the rebel offensive was Abu Muhammad al-Jolani, the leader of the Syrian militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) — and a man who has been designated a terrorist by the U.S. since 2013.

In 2021, FRONTLINE correspondent Martin Smith became the first Western journalist to interview Jolani. Following Assad’s fall, Smith sat down with FRONTLINE editor-in-chief and executive producer Raney Aronson-Rath to talk about what he learned from his conversations with Jolani, Jolani's journey from al Qaeda commander to rebel leader seeking a new role in Syria's future, and why he will be “watching to see what Jolani actually does, not what he says” as a new chapter in Syrian history unfolds.

Stream The Jihadist, FRONTLINE’s 2021 documentary investigating Jolani, his militant group and his ambitions for Syria, on FRONTLINE’s website, FRONTLINE’s YouTube Channel or the PBS App. Read more of FRONTLINE’s coverage of Syria.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	History unfolding at lightning speed in the Middle East.
0:05.4	Gunfire chanting and cheers in celebration of the end of an era.
0:10.3	Tears of happiness, the moment many Syria waited for decades to see.
0:15.2	On December 8th, Syrian rebels stunned the world when they seized Damascus and toppled Syrian
0:20.6	President Bashar al-Assad.
0:22.7	Jubilation and relief in the streets. The rebels declaring victory from the state TV studios,
0:27.8	saying the city of Damascus has been liberated. The tyrant. The offensive was led by the
0:32.5	Ismus militant group Hayat Javier al-Sham, or HTS.
0:43.4	In 2021, frontline correspondent Martin Smith became the first Western journalist to interview Abu Muhammad Al-Jolani, HTS's leader.
0:46.7	You want to impose Sharia law on society?
0:49.8	What gave you the authority, the legitimacy to call for this?
0:53.9	Martin Smith joins me on the dispatch today to talk about the historic developments in Syria
0:59.0	and Yulani's journey, from al-Qaeda commander to rebel leader, seeking a new role in Syria's future.
1:06.0	I'm Rainy Erinsen Roth, editor-in-chief and executive producer of Frontline, and this is the Frontline Dispatch.
1:24.1	The Frontline Dispatch is made possible by the Abrams Foundation, committed to excellence in journalism and by the Frontline Journalism Fund, with major support from John and Joanne Hegler.
1:36.0	Marty, thanks so much for joining me on the dispatch.
1:39.4	It's good to be back.
1:40.7	So we're only a few days out since Assad was ousted from power and fled to Russia.
1:46.4	What has your reaction been to the news, especially considering your film that aired, you know,
1:51.3	now four years ago, the jihadist? You know, I was caught as flat-footed as anybody was.
1:57.3	I had met Jalani back in 2021. and he told me that his ambition, his goal was to fight Assad
2:06.1	and topple the government. I thought, well, that's a pipe dream. It's not going to happen.
	...

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