If you¡¯re curious to know what a truly post-American world will look like, take a close look at what¡¯s been going on the last few days and you¡¯ll get what I suspect is a pretty accurate snapshot.
In the Levant, Syria¡¯s smoldering civil war flared up, with an apparently reformed Islamist terrorist organization retaking the northern city of Aleppo. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, surprised even itself by the ease with which President Bashar Assad¡¯s forces initially melted before it.
This became feasible because Assad¡¯s allies ¡ª who stepped into the void in 2015, after then-U.S. President Barack Obama declined to hold the ring ¡ª find their militaries sapped by engagements elsewhere. Russia is mired in Ukraine; Iran and Hezbollah have taken a severe beating from Israel. HTS, backed by Turkey, chose its moment accordingly.
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