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Virtual: Syria after Assad: Prospects for U.S. withdrawal
More than a decade since former president Barack Obama announced Bashar al-Assad "must go," a new government rules in Syria. At its center is Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a group formerly tied to al-Qaeda. The new Trump administration must quickly decide how to deal with HTS and whether to pull out U.S. troops now that the major rationales for keeping them there—combatting ISIS, overthrowing Assad, and forcing Iran's exit—have evaporated.
How does the fall of Assad alter the regional balance of power? What are America's interests in Syria, and how are they affected in the wake of this change of regimes? Will President Trump seek to remove U.S. military forces from Syria, as he did in his first administration? Can and should the U.S. negotiate a deal with NATO ally Turkey on the fate of the Kurds?
Join our distinguished panel of experts to explore these crucial questions and more, as U.S. policy seeks to navigate this realignment in the Middle East.