Dawn in Syria, Turkey as the indispensable partner, and how people feel about it

Notebook #12

This is a regular newsletter for paid subscribers on the things I’ve been reading and thinking about. Free subscribers get the first item for free.

Today it’s going to be some more notes on the latest events in Syria.

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Dawn in Syria

The world is still trying to come to terms with the fall of Assad. For most Syrians, it’s a joyous moment.

Omar Kadkoy

, a Syrian-Turkish researcher and dear friend of mine, has written up a personal account of what it was like watching the regime fall from Istanbul.

My takeaway from the essay was that this was a moment of closure for Syrians. For 13 years, they’ve been living through the sheer hell of civil war, and it is now over. Yes, there’s still some fighting going on, and yes, it’s obviously not a good outcome for all Syrians, but nonetheless, the war is winding down. Even for those who won’t be going home, at least they’ll know that they can.

I’m pretty pessimistic about the future in general, but maybe this particular outcome is better than the alternatives. Assad’s regime was unspeakably brutal. The footage coming out of prisons alone has been mind-bending. We’re all better off without it in the world. The Syrian people can, and will surely do better.

With all that said, it’s important to temper one’s expectations for the country. I was a fresh college graduate in 2011, when the Arab Spring started, and remember the euphoria in the press. Let’s avoid that sugar high. In times like these, a lot of different things happen at the same time. Some of it is going to be for the better, some for the worse.