WSJ What’s News - Assad’s Fall Marks a New Era for Syria

Episode Date: December 9, 2024

A.M. Edition for Dec. 9. The WSJ’s Jared Malsin details how Syrian rebels ended 50 years of Assad rule in a remarkable 11-day blitz, and discusses what’s next for the country–and how this realigns power dynamics in the Middle East. Plus, Donald Trump prepares a day-one executive order to curtail automatic citizenship for anyone born in the U.S. And Omnicom and Interpublic near a merger that would create the world’s largest ad firm. Luke Vargast hosts. Sign up for the WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amazon Q Business is the generative AI assistant from AWS because business can be slow, like wading through mud. But Amazon Q helps streamline work, so tasks like summarizing monthly results can be done in no time. Learn what Amazon Q Business can do for you at aws.com slash learn more. An uncertain new chapter for Syria as rebels topple the Assad government. They've gone to great lengths to say that they want to rule the country for all Syrians. This is really the test.

Will they in fact rule in a way that's pluralistic or will they rule in a way that is more in keeping with their roots as a jihadist organization? Plus new details on the incoming Trump administration's plans to curb birthright citizenship and a major potential tie-up in the advertising world. It's Monday, December 9th. I'm Luke Vargas for The Wall Street Journal and here is the AM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories moving your world today. Rebel fighters in Syria have ousted the Assad regime that ruled the country for a half century.

In a remarkable 11-day blitz, rebels led by a group known as HTS that was for years based in a small pocket of territory in Syria's northwest, captured one city after another before arriving in the capital Damascus yesterday, where they were greeted with celebrations. So how did they manage in short fashion to topple a regime that had survived more than a decade of civil war? And what's next for Syria and for the region? With more, I'm joined by Journal Middle East correspondent Jared Mausen. Jared, how did the Syrian rebel groups manage to pull this off? Well, this started with a surprise attack on the city of Aleppo.

And what happened is that the regime's forces crumbled in the face of this offensive, and that momentum spurred the rebels on to this march on Damascus that happened over the weekend. This is a story about how the regime's forces were revealed to be hollowed. These are underpaid soldiers who are underfed and who are exhausted from years of war. And they met a rebel force that was well coordinated, that was trained, that had spent years preparing for this. And once it became clear that the regime couldn't hold on to major cities, it was just a question from there of other rebel groups joining the fight

and officers in the regime realizing that the war had been lost. And crucially, Jared, support from Russia and Iran, countries that had played a key role in helping Bashar al-Assad stay in power in recent years, fell away at the last minute as well. That's correct. He has fled to Russia, according to the Russian government. And this is a historic moment for Syria, where you had Assad and his father, who had together ruled Syria for more than 50 years. And now that government has been swept away. And this is something that millions of Syrians have been hoping for for years, ever since they rose up against than 50 years and now that government has been swept away. And this is something that

millions of Syrians have been hoping for for years ever since they rose up against him in 2011. All right. So Assad out, turning the page on a long chapter in Syrian history and now new groups in the mix, most notably Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and their leader Abu Mohammed al-Jalani, who entered Damascus yesterday. What should we know about this group and him in particular and how they might rule based on what we know about them? So Hayat Tahrir Sham, known by the acronym HTS, of course, used to be part of Al Qaeda's

branch in Syria. They said they severed ties with Al Qaeda years ago and they have for years been trying to rebrand themselves as more of a nationalist, more mainstream rebel group. And Jelani himself says that he's given up extremism and they've gone to great lengths to say that they want to protect minority groups, that they want to rule the country for all Syrians. Right. As President Biden said on this, the US quote, will assess not just their words, but their actions, end quote. And given that Syria is a diverse country with multiple religions and groups that have been pitted against one another, right, in the course of the civil

war, how you govern given that history is going to be quite a sensitive issue. Right. And it's going to be difficult because this is a country that's endured a lot of trauma and because the Assad regime itself exploited those sectarian differences in its war against the rebels by attacking largely Sunni Muslim people in rebel-held areas. The rebels themselves obviously

largely made up of Sunni Muslims. And now one major question is how will HTS and other rebel groups treat the Alawite religious minority of which Assad was a member? And we're about to find out. So, big questions for what happens within Syria. And of course, this all coming at a pivotal time for the region, you know, encapsulated by the flurry of international comments about what is going on. What could this transition for Syria mean more broadly for the Middle East? Well, number one, it's a huge setback for both Russia and Iran.

Syria is Russia's foothold for its, really its military presence globally. It's how it projects power into the Middle East and Africa. For Iran, Syria was a huge symbol of its ability to project power and station its military forces near Israel. Those militias, including Hezbollah, were fighting on Assad's side. Rebel groups are anti-Iran. They have already been storming, they say,

some Iranian bases in northern Syria. So there's no question that they're going to want to roll back the influence of one of Assad's main allies in Syria. All right. A devastating blow for Russia and Iran then, though there are still the risk right of a worst case scenario here in which Syria remains lawless. For instance, chemical weapons could fall into the wrong hands, control of territory could slip and all of that kind of creating a chaotic environment. We're already seeing Israel launching preemptive strikes today in the country. So still a lot of concern

about what could happen next here. There's a lot of obvious concern about what happens next. But these are all questions that are about to be decided by Syrians. Jolani himself has said that they're considering dissolving HDS in order to pave way for governing structures that might be broader and more inclusive. These rebel groups are still taking control of the country from the government, handing over institutions, opening up prisons that have held thousands

of political prisoners for years. That transformation is still unfolding right now. And these tests of governance, I think, will see unfold in the coming weeks, months, and years. I've been speaking to Wall Street Journal Middle East correspondent Jared Maunson. Jared, thank you so much for bringing us this story. Thank you. Coming up, Donald Trump prepares for a legal fight over his plans to curtail so-called

birthright citizenship and a possible merger that could create an ad industry behemoth. That and more after the break. Sure, I could tell you winter's coming or that it brings cold, dry air, but you already knew that. What you might not know is that Dove Deep Moisture Body Wash is made with millions of moisturizing micro-moisture droplets to keep your skin silky soft for 24 hours. Plus it's paraben and sulfate free. No matter how dry your skin feels Dove has you covered. Buy Dove Body Wash today at your local retailer or visit

Dove.ca to learn more and order online. retailer or visit dove.ca to learn more and order online. We are reporting that President-elect Donald Trump's transition team is preparing a day one executive order to curtail automatic citizenship for anyone born in the U.S. According to people familiar with the matter, that includes drafting several versions of the directive. Trump promised but didn't sign an outright ban of birthright citizenship in his first term. Among the steps under consideration are directing federal agencies to require that a child have

at least one parent who's a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, and stopping agencies from issuing passports, social security numbers, and other welfare benefits to children who don't. Trump is also expected to seek to deter what his allies call birth tourism, possibly by tightening criteria for tourist visas. Many constitutional scholars and civil rights groups say those changes can't be done through executive action and would require changing the constitution, and Trump's team is aware his order would almost immediately be challenged in court.

South Korea's embattled president, who briefly instituted martial law last week, will no longer be involved in running the country or diplomacy. That's according to the leader of South Korea's ruling party, who called President Yoon Seok-yul unfit to lead and argued the move would stabilize state affairs. Though Yoon managed to stave off an impeachment vote over the weekend, about three-quarters of South Koreans want to see him gone, and opposition parties have pledged to keep calling impeachment votes every week until they're successful. South Korea's KOSPI stock index fell for a fourth straight session today, with the WON also weakening against the dollar. We are exclusively reporting that Omnicom Group is in advanced talks to acquire Interpublic

Group, a deal that would unseat WPP as the world's largest advertising company. The exact terms being discussed couldn't be learned, but according to people familiar with the matter, the all-stock deal will likely value Interpublic at between $13 and $14 billion, excluding debt, and a transaction could be announced as early as this week. Ben Dummett covers M&A for the journal. The deal would give the combined entity a lot more resources to deal with an industry

that's increasingly under pressure to gain scale as they deal with drivers such as technology, data, and artificial intelligence. Ad companies are facing new competition from tech giants such as Alphabet, Google, and meta-platforms that are using AI to drive deeper into the business. The threat is obviously real for these traditional ad agencies.

Research firm Forrester said last year that automation could eliminate some 33,000 jobs at these ad agencies by 2030, with various forms of AI being responsible for a significant portion of those losses. Interpublic shares are soaring in off-hours trading while Omnicom stock is down. And while Madison Avenue firms have to contend with tougher competition, the overall picture for the advertising industry is looking rather rosy. According to a forecast from Group M, a WPP unit, global ad revenue is set to top $1 trillion for the first time in 2024, a year earlier than previously expected.

That's as many U.S. consumers continue to spend despite high borrowing costs and cautious guidance from retailers. And we've got another journal exclusive for you as activist investor Barrington Capital has built a position in Macy's and plans to push the company to make changes to boost its slumping stock, including the creation of a separate real estate unit. Barrington, which has teamed up with property owner Thor Equities on its investment, believes Macy's real estate alone is worth between five and nine billion dollars, more than the entire company's current market value.

The investor is expected to disclose its stake today. And in other news that could move markets, China has signaled a more forceful approach to boosting its economy, with its top decision-making body today pledging to implement more proactive fiscal policy and hinting at more monetary easing in the new year. The announcement comes as November inflation figures today pointed to persistent weakness in domestic demand. On deck today, cloud giant Oracle is due to report earnings after the closing bell, and the journal's CEO Council Summit kicks off in Washington

with movers and shakers, including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and the CEOs of MasterCard, Chubb, and the New York Stock Exchange Group taking the stage over the next two days to discuss policy security and the economy. All the details, including how to tune in, can be found on wsj.com. And that's it for What's News for Monday morning. Today's show was produced by Kate Bulevent and Daniel Bach with supervising producer Christina Rocca, and I'm Luke Vargas for The Wall Street Journal. We will be back tonight with a new show. Until then, thanks for listening.