Aaron Y. Zelin is the Gloria and Ken Levy Senior Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, where his research focuses on Sunni Arab jihadist groups in North Africa and Syria, foreign fighting, and online jihadism.
What are the risks and potential rewards for Washington and its partners working with the new government of Syria, which is led by members of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)?
Gloria and Ken Levy Senior Fellow Aaron Zelin gives insight into the risks and rewards of working with the new government of Syria led by members of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Zelin has studied HTS for over a decade, from its roots as an al-Qaeda offshoot, administration of the Idlib province, lightning campaign to capture Damascus, and current effort to win international recognition. How will the group reconcile its Sunni Islamist ideology with its role governing a nation that includes secularists and a range of ethnic minorities?
