By Rachel Pannett, Leo Sands Secretary of State Antony Blinken says U.S. officials have made direct contact with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Syria’s new Islamist leaders. Source: Live Briefing: U.S., Turkey and others set out vision for ‘Syrian-led’ government transition
Category: Washington Post
By Greg Miller Turkey has drawn extensively from the U.S. counterterrorism post-9/11 playbook to go after exiled political enemies, in particular the Gulen movement. Source: Turkey exploits post-9/11 counterterrorism model to target critics in exile
By Claire Parker, Susannah George Leaders in countries such as Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia are worried Assad’s ouster, and the rise of an Islamist government, could stir unrest at home. Source: Assad’s fall to Islamist rebels in Syria unsettles region’s autocrats