Ahmed Sharaa alias Abu Mohamed Al Jolani served as the leader of two of the world’s most deadliest insurgent-terrorist movements. However, Sharaa abandoned the vicious ideology and brutal tactics of Al Qaeda and the Islamic State and embraced politics.
His own group Jabhat al-Nusra (Al-Nusra Front) and the umbrella organisation Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham HTS engaged in suicide attacks. Even after Sharaa captured Damascus, the seat of power, he faced numerous challenges of controlling the fighting units especially those led and staffed by foreign fighters targeting minorities. Nonetheless, Sharaa has transformed both his organisation and himself.
His journey reflects what Charles Darwin said that those who survive are not the fittest but those who can adapt and change. Despite constant challenges he faced, Sharaa endured them and transformed himself and his organisation to survive and sustain in a changing and a complex environment. That is his secret of rising from an insurgent-terrorist leader to the de-facto President of Syria.
After engaging with Western and Middle Eastern governments, the US President Donald J. Trump described Sharaa as a “young, attractive guy. Tough guy. Strong past. Very strong past. Fighter.” Trump’s comments opened many doors for him including the safe passage to the U.S. to address the United Nations General Assembly.
In his Q & A session with the Syrian leader Ahmed Al Sharaa in New York City on September 22, 2025, the former CIA director General David Petraeus, conducted a motivational interview.
A far-reaching leader, Petraeus who commanded US forces in Iraq imprisoned Sharaa for five years but also ensured his rehabilitation. Motivational interview is a technique practiced and perfected in Iraq to rehabilitate terrorist suspects in camps cropper, Buca and Taji. Al Sharaa was a detainee from 2006 to 2011.
At the Concordia Annual Summit 2025, Petraeus motivated Sharaa to care for Syria’s minorities in a Muslim majority country. Christians, Druze and Alawites have suffered after Sharaa captured power in December 2024. When Petraeus also highlighted the need for Syria’s peace with Israel, Sharaa explained the challenges of normalising relations with Israel. The questions posed and the answers delivered motivated the interviewee to embrace reality and live pragmatically.
As a preeminent national security practitioner and a keen student of history, Petraeus motivated Sharaa to engage Israel, without with which there will be no peace in Syria. Petraeus posed the question,
“There has been some speculation, Mr. President, about the possibility that Syria could join the Abraham Accords with the Israelis, as have the Emiratis and other countries. In fact, there are reports of talks between your government and that in Jerusalem.” I’m reminded of an old American expression that only President Richard Nixon, the ultimate Cold Warrior, could go to Communist China and establish diplomatic relations. This begs the question, of course, could President Ahmad al-Sharaa someday go to Jerusalem?”
A previous instructor of international relations at the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, Petraeus was the ideal scholar-warrior to engage Sharaa in a Q&A session. Of all the US general officers I met in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as when I served as a Senior Fellow at the USMA’s Combating Terrorism Centre, Petraeus was a leader with a helicopter view and capable of critical thinking, complex problem-solving, and strategic analysis to navigate modern, intricate security challenges, effectively “out-thinking and out-fighting” the enemy.
In the lead up to Christmas 2024, I met with General David H. Petraeus, US Army (Ret.), the fourth Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and the former coalition commander in Iraq and Afghanistan. Gen David Petraeus is also the author of “Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Gaza”
With my colleague Ami Angel, I wrote my experience of working in Iraq to help build the rehabilitation program in the book ‘Terrorist Rehabilitation: The US experience in Iraq’.
In exceptionally trying circumstances, my colleagues and I helped to build the rehabilitation program by working with Detainee Task Force 134 by a humanist General Douglas Stone. I travelled to Iraq twice, once to seed the program with Ustaz Dr Mohamed bin Ali, a rehabilitation expert, and later with Ami Angel, a legal expert, to review the program. The program was only a partial success because Iraq had no capacity to engage the detainees after their release.
Most of the core of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and later the Islamic State were former detainees. Sharaa joined the Islamic State, an Al Qaeda off shoot, then led by Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, a ruthless terrorist leader. Having established the al-Nusra Front in Syria in 2012 to fight Bashar al-Assad, he rejected the ideology of both the Islamic State and Al Qaeda. After merging al-Nusra with other groups, he aimed from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) to defeat Al Assad. The U.S. designated HTS as a terrorist organisation in 2018 but revoked it in July 2025.
The USD 10 million bounty on al-Sharaa’s head was lifted in December 2024.
Unlike most other Islamists burdened by ideology, Sharaa rapidly transformed and reached out to the US and to Europe. His first major break was meeting with Saudi Prime Minister and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) in February 2025. MBS facilitated a diplomatic breakthrough when Sharaa met with President Donald Trump in Riyadh in May 2025 and the US pledge to lift its sanctions on Syria.
Ahmed al Sharaa with Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia MBS and US President Donald Trump in Saudi Arabia
In September 2025, Sharaa traveled to New York City. In addition to meeting with Trump, Sharaa addressed the UN General Assembly sharing the world stage with other world leaders.
Trump met with Syrian leader Al Shara’a on their visit to address the UN General Assembly
Syrian leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly Abu Muhammad al-Julani, leader of HTS addressing the UN General Assembly in NYC.
Qatar’s Emir meet with president of France and leader of Syria at the UN General Assembly in NYC
Transcript of the interview between Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa and former Director CIA and US Army General David Petraeus during the Concordia Annual Summit in New York on September 22, 2025.
Gen. (Ret.) David Petraeus
Well, good morning to you all. We gather at a moment when the global order is being reshaped by conflict, competition, diplomacy, and urgent demands of reconstruction. Few places embody these challenges more starkly than Syria, a nation emerging from well over a decade of devastating civil war, political upheaval, and humanitarian crisis, and from more than 50 years of brutal rule by the murderous Hafez al-Saud and his son, Beshar. Today’s conversation, however, will not be about Syria’s past. Rather, is it about the choices and challenges ahead for Syria’s governance, for its people’s security and dignity, and for its place in the international community. We will explore the delicate balance between reconciliation and justice, the rebuilding of shattered institutions and the role of regional and global actors in shaping Syria’s future. For this conversation, it is obviously my privilege to interview His Excellency Ahmed Al-Shara, president of the Syrian Arab Republic since January 2025. Born in Riyadh in 1982 and raised in Damascus, President Al-Shara rose to prominence as a rebel commander during the Syrian civil war and ultimately built and then led the force that toppled the Assad government in late 2024. His trajectory from insurgent leader to head of state has been one of the most dramatic political transformations in recent Middle Eastern history. Today, he presides over nearly 25 million people in a country at a crossroads, navigating the demands of establishing security and governance, and also overseeing reconstruction, the return of displaced Syrians, and the challenges of reconciling deeply divided communities. Please join again in welcoming President Ahmed Al-Shara to the stage.
(Applause) (Speaking Foreign Language)
Gen. (Ret.) David Petraeus
As you know, Mr. President, I spent over 37 years in the U.S. Army, and I was a soldier, not a diplomat. So I hope you’ll forgive me if I speak with the directness of the old soldier that I am as I get the first question out of the way. Because the fact is that we were on different sides when I was commanding the surge in Iraq. You were, of course, detained by U.S. forces for some five years, including, again, when I was the four star there. And here you are now as the president of Syria, which your force has liberated from the murderous Bashar al-Assad regime to participate in your first U.N. General Assembly as the president of your country. Earlier this year, you met the president of the United States among many other world leaders. Please help us understand how you got from Al Qaeda in Iraq 20 years ago to where you are today, Syria’s head of state on stage in New York City.
Ahmed Al-Sharaa (Eng Translation)
welcome you. It is good that at the time we were in the combat and then we now move to the discourse. We moved from war to discourse. Yes, sir. Someone who went through war is one who knows most importance of peace. First, the past has its rules when it comes down to traditions and rule and traditions and the customs of that phase. When we want to subject it, when we want to judge it, we have to judge it based on this phase. We cannot judge the past based on the rules of today and cannot judge today based on the rules of the past today. Now we have a new phase that’s special, the region. There was an occupation of Iraq. There has been a lot of conflicts in the area. In Palestine, Syria was facing a lot of challenges and was threatened. And the phase at that time and awareness, all these factors were contributing to the choices of that phase. What’s important, the intent was clear when it comes down to protecting and defending people and defending human rights, women, the children, from other injustice that was taking place in the region. Perhaps there were some mistakes. Sometimes in a person’s journey, there are some mistakes. But what’s important is to focus on defending people from the threats that they face, especially from the instability that could take place in any region. Our commitment to that line is what brought us here today to the place we’re in sitting here among allies and friends.
Gen. (Ret.) David Petraeus
Well, again, as a former commander of forces and in two different wars, in fact, I’m fascinated by your skill in putting together a force, and I assume recruiting, training, equipping, conducting leader development courses and so forth, to build a force that could rapidly take Aleppo and then, of course, Hama has opened homes and the road to Damascus is clear, and you topple a regime that had been in control of your country for 50 years. How did you do this, and again, as how did you organize, train, equip this force, and then lead it to this stunning outcome?
Ahmed Al-Sharaa (Eng Translation)
of all, you as a military leader, you know there are different military rules. First, the balance of power does not depend on the tools or whatever you have at your disposal. There are many countries where there is a comfort and small groups can overthrow a president or a ruler. So what a leader needs is optimism, a belief, a deep belief that you are defending a noble cause, you’re protecting a country, you’re defending people who were massacred, who were subjected to bombing campaigns, children who were killed. A lot of bombing, a lot of abductions, a lot of sexual violence. There is about a million people who were killed, so actually what we were defending was a noble case, a case that deserved to be supported regarding the military level. Of course, we were confronting a large country like Russia, Russia who had military aviation who were much more equipped than us, and they were different factions like Hezbollah on the ground. And all these enemy factions were confronted thanks to our will by choosing the right time, the right place to enter the country, by taking key positions, tactical and scatigical action, night and day, and the military forces supported by civilians. We had institutions like schools,
and different institutions
Ahmed Al-Sharaa (Eng Translation)
were providing us with the support and help, like in limits, or these institutions were trained by the military, and therefore we have accumulated experience, and we were ready at one point to reach Damascus in a very short time and with the least cost possible.
Gen. (Ret.) David Petraeus
Well, your skills again in organizing and then leading that force are hugely impressive. But despite all that you have achieved as a military leader, and it is extraordinary, and now as a statesman, there are understandably some who are skeptical. What do you say to reassure those who wonder if you will follow through on your commitment to unify Syria, and to ensure not just majority rule, but also minority rights, a commitment that is particularly important, given the many ethnic, sectarian, tribal, and other elements in your country?
Ahmed Al-Sharaa (Eng Translation)
When I converse with a military commander, I have to stick to military rules. When you know in war, it is difficult for one to completely avoid civilians when it comes down to military operations. At times there are casualties and losses. But during the 11 days, the fight for liberation, there has been mercy and kindness to people. There has been a lot of forgiveness, and therefore it was less costly. Also the conduct of the people during hot conflict and hot fighting, there was a care to defend and protect the people, and at the same time there was a commitment to liberating military spots from the forces that they face. And we abide to the same conduct when it comes down to governing. And Syria, in a short period of time, they
Ahmed Al-Sharaa (Eng Translation)
were talking about, we had somebody here speaking about his experience and being deprived from Syria over 60 years. The former regime worked on dividing the people, and there was a lot of ethnic and sectarian, and Syria was one of the areas with a lot of focus when it comes down to sectarianism. There has been a lot of violations, and it worked on scaring the people in order to oppress them. But we cannot solve all the problems right away at once, but gradually we reach, also after the collapse of the former regime, the society has started to come together around the current presidency. And then at times, however, there was a bit of sectarianism that’s reminiscent from the old regime. But the sound mind would help us to face the problems and deal with each problem separately. One of the priorities for this phase is the stability and the security in Syria, and through the unification of the Syrian people and the Syrian land and limiting weapons, we are going to enhance the security, and there’s a good connection with economic development, between economic development and security stability.
Gen. (Ret.) David Petraeus
Sayed Rice, given how devastated Syria has been by the terrible civil war of well over a decade, how do you intend to achieve your vision for Syria, and what do you seek from the United States and the West to help you achieve that?
Ahmed Al-Sharaa (Eng Translation)
There has been a severance of relationship between Syria and the United States over the past time. But however, the collapse of the former regime gave a new opportunity as a new historical phase. The region has suffered over 60 years, especially over the past 40 years, and over the last 14 years of the civil war. Now there has been a historical transition that gave an opportunity in the region. There has been shared interest between Syria and the West and the United States in the current phase. And if we would like to talk, if we use the language of shared interest, there’s a lot of principles that the U.S. and Syria share, and the West in general. I’d like to avoid that Syria only looks for relationships and friendship and donations, but we try to break the restrictions. We have to lift the restrictions and lift the sanctions on put on Syria, because these sanctions were put because of the regime of Hamza al-Assad since 1979, even before we were born, because that was a country that fostered terrorism and such. These sanctions, specifically the Caesar law that was pushed by the American Congress on the former regime because it had tortured and violated human rights on its people. It had committed many violations against the Syrian people. But this is a former regime. This is passed. So, therefore, these sanctions have to be lifted. And if these sanctions remain with the old regime collapse, then they’ll be targeting the people, and not the regime, the former regime. I think Syria deserves a new opportunity at life, and Mr. President Donald Trump took a bold decision to lift the sanctions speedily, but it is still pending at the Congress. And the Congress also has to push to better the situation in Syria because the Syrian people have suffered over the last decades, and the sanctions should not remain because it causes a burden on the people who have already suffered by the oppression of the former regime.
Gen. (Ret.) David Petraeus
As you noted earlier, Mr. President, since the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, there have been some tragic sectarian attacks against the Druze community in southwestern Syria and also against the Alawites on the Mediterranean coast. These have included execution-style killings of civilians. How do you respond to those who point to these episodes and argue that your government is not sufficiently protecting Syria’s minorities and that some of your supporters appear to have been taking part in some of this?
Ahmed Al-Sharaa (Eng Translation)
I mentioned before that Syria had inherited a lot of conflict and problems, and there are parties that try to raise sectarian divides and violence because they want to interfere in the Syrian matters. And these are parties that are not benefiting. They used to benefit from the former regime, and they benefit from making Syria a place to resolve conflicts and old problems. Of course, there are problems on the coast and also between the Bedouins and the Druze through the people who escaped the former regime, the remnants of the older regime. And there has been chaos, and all parties were mistaken, including parts of the government. And therefore, we have made councils to look into the matters. And for the first time since 60 years, Douyin was able to send councils to look up the truth, and Syria will put anybody who makes any violations against civilians in front of the law.
And it
Ahmed Al-Sharaa (Eng Translation)
is important for the country to be at the same distance with all the citizens through the law and all in all, not through moods or personal grudges. We are not going to judge people based on their religions or their races. Everybody has the right to live in Syria, the rule of law is going to be upheld. Any violations that happen in Swaide or in the coast, we have evaluated these violations, and we send inquiries, and any parties that have created a violator are going to be persecuted.
Gen. (Ret.) David Petraeus
Mr. President, you reached an agreement with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in northeastern Syria earlier this year to integrate them into the rest of Syria. These forces are, of course, supported by small elements of the U.S. military, which have been with them since the Syrian Democratic Forces defeated the Islamic State in northeastern Syria. How do you see this situation evolving, and what do you think the long-term relationship between the Syrian Kurds and Damascus should look like?
First
Ahmed Al-Sharaa (Eng Translation)
of all, we have set out a rule which is to collect the guns. Only the state could own the guns. Any arms in the hands of civilians could lead to trouble. Therefore, we were very clear, we established a law, and any gun in the hands of a person outside the framework of the law would be punished. We have been clear on this through conversation. There are different factions in Syria who hold arms, and we try to convince them that we need a unified army that collaborates with the government. We have tried to contain these factions, and we have benefited from the experience of the past years. Therefore, we could support the unified armies. We have 25 percent of Kurds in the army, and when we set with the Assad allies, we told them that we have to respect and protect the rights of the Kurds, and this should be set out in the constitution. And we do not want to live what we have lived, the massacres of opposing factions and enemies. There are different regions where people have fled, so we guaranteed the right of return to all of them, to the refugees. We have made sure that we
Ahmed Al-Sharaa (Eng Translation)
have made it clear that we will never accept the division of Syria in faction because this would lead to trouble and risk against neighboring countries such as Iraq. Therefore, we have to reach peaceful solutions. We have to endorse the document related to the implementation of the convention over the agreement of all the factions, include those supported by Turkey and those supported by Iran. We have to seize the opportunity in order to reorganize Syria and because this will benefit everybody, all factions, including the Kurds.
Gen. (Ret.) David Petraeus
Mr. President, the Syrian opposition obviously was euphoric about the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, but there are obviously questions that they raise about whether you and your political movement will be truly able to achieve a free and open Syria, meaning multi-party elections, freedom of speech, freedom of worship, and other fundamental liberties. How do you reassure them?
Ahmed Al-Sharaa (Eng Translation)
Well, as we sit here, Syria is preparing election and coordinating so all the people are represented in the elections. Syria is a civilized country with culture. It’s a country that has many projects with a lot of competence, and people have the right to choose who’s going to rule them or who’s going to represent them in the parliaments. However, there are specificities to the transitional period during the over the next five years because that’s a transition between regime to a new regime and from a popular revolution like the revolution we just had. Of course, that would need a lot of measures in order to reach stability and safety. These measures would entail time, and we estimate that that time would be about four to five years. We took many steps over the past period of time. We have filled the vacuum, the power vacuum, and we have started the national discourse between all the different sectors of the people. And we also have been sharing the authority, and we also have been opening the ground for contribution of participation of the different sectors of society. Also, in the government, there are many– there are Kurds, Alawites, Druze, and Christians. And therefore, they represent all the different factions of society, and we have made sure that the government is one of competence. After that, we go to the elections, and who’s going to represent the people in the elections? And the Syrian reform and rebuilding would need time and different phases, and we are going at a really fast speed in comparison to what really took place in Iraq or what happened in other nations like Germany. They needed a time to regain their stability after the World War II and also the French. They needed many long years after the French Revolution to reach stability. In comparison to these experiences, we are going at a fast speed, and we are dealing with special laws that would rule during that transitional time on the premises that Syria is not yet stable. And then after that, we take these laws, and we compare them to the advanced and developed nations, and we adjust them. Also, that would give that the rule would be if we take into account the specificity and how special this transitional period is.
Gen. (Ret.) David Petraeus
It is very impressive, I must say, Mr. President. Russia, the Iranians, Lebanese Hezbollah were, of course, key foreign backers of the Bashar al-Assad regime. You fought against them over the past several years. How is your relationship with them evolving now?
Ahmed Al-Sharaa (Eng Translation)
Syria has taken policy. Before the start of the fight, they were taken into account after the collapse of the regime that they want to maintain calm relationships with the region and the world in general. When it comes down to Iran and Hezbollah and Russia, but in general, the nation has to work in a strategic manner, and we should not be one of reaction. But there are strategic interests for the country. Russia is a big country, and it has a stake in dealing with the Syrian case over 70 or 75 years. Syria is heading towards so that Syria would not be a threat to any country when it comes down to the Russian presence or any other country, even in the militias that used to be present on Syrian land. And we mentioned that in many occasions, and we said that Syria will not be a threat to the region or any country. Any party that has interest that aligns with that of Syria, taking into account that the Syrian sovereignty will take priority and its stability and its security on that, we build partnerships with different countries around the world. Syria needs reform, needs rebuilding, and that rebuilding will take a long time. Therefore, it is important to keep calm and stable relationships with the international community and the regional community as well.
Gen. (Ret.) David Petraeus
There has been some speculation, Mr. President, about the possibility that Syria could join the Abraham Accords with the Israelis, as have the Emiratis and other countries. In fact, there are reports of talks between your government and that in Jerusalem. I’m reminded of an old American expression that only President Richard Nixon, the ultimate Cold Warrior, could go to Communist China and establish diplomatic relations. This begs the question, of course, could President Ahmad al-Shara someday go to Jerusalem?
Ahmed Al-Sharaa (Eng Translation)
There is a big difference between Syria and those members in the Abrahamians Accords. Syria is different, and those who are part of the aqours, parties to the Abrahamian Accords, are not neighbors to Israel. For instance, Syria, as a neighbor, has been subjected to over 1,000 raids, strikes, and incursions, Israeli incursions in Syria from the Golanites, and many were killed. So what applies to the parties in the Abrahamian Accords does not apply to Syria. Moreover, Syria is trying to set calm atmosphere and avoid any fighting or confrontation with any party. Meanwhile, Syria has to be respected in this new era. There are different phases of negotiations with Israel, and this to go back to the truth of 1974. If there are any security fears, there are mediators of like the United States that could calm the fears. Israel was afraid of Syria, whereas Syria is the one to fear incursions and attacks from Israel. So if calming the situation will succeed, we will be able to discuss the
Ahmed Al-Sharaa (Eng Translation)
situation related to the Golanites and other issues. And there is a huge anger in view of what’s going on in Gaza, not only in Syria, but in the world, in the entire world. And of course, this has an impact on our position towards Israel. We just had our revolution. We are trying to be the voice of the people, and most of the peace accords with Israel were made with previous regimes. So we have to try to find new approaches in order for these accords or treaties in order for them to last longer, because previous treaties were violated. For instance, under late President Sadat or late King Hussein, many accords and treaties were signed with Israel, but they were violated. Therefore, we have to find a new path, taking into account the new reality. Is Israel trying to expand? Is it in an expansion strategy, or is it in a fear strategy? This will dictate.
Gen. (Ret.) David Petraeus
These issues, Mr. President. And you have talks ongoing now about these issues, Mr. President?
Ahmed Al-Sharaa (Eng Translation)
Yes, this course is ongoing regarding Peace No. 74. I believe that we reached advanced stages, and I hope that that will lead us to an agreement that will keep the sovereignty of Syria and also resolve some of the security fears for Israel.
Gen. (Ret.) David Petraeus
Mr. President, I have some sense of how tough your job is right now, how much is riding on you personally, and I know you have to be keenly aware of that. The pressure has to be enormous. When people ask me, “What was it like to command the surge in Iraq?” I would respond by saying it was the most grinding experience of my life, but it was also the most important one. So, this next one is about you personally. How are you holding up under all this pressure? Are you getting time to do some thinking? Are you getting enough sleep at night? Again, I’ve been there, and it is so very, very hard. And you’re many fans, and I am one of them. We do have worries.
(Applause)
Ahmed Al-Sharaa (Eng Translation)
First, the Arabs would say that a person is strong by his brothers, so I have a good team. I have a big team that helps me with all that I embark on. Also, there’s been a nation that’s been patient and strong and remains steadfast amid some of the worst wars that were witnessed in this century. I take my power from God the greatest and also from the team that backs me up, that helps me with this effort, and I also take into account the resilience of the nation and their desire to move forward. Also, I’ve grown among instability. I am 43 years old, but I spent 25 years of which in conflict, in war, and in hardship. So, I’m used to crisis. Crisis has to be managed with strategic plans, with an open mind, and with flexibility and adaptability. The calm has to take over the person who has to take important decisions, especially when it comes down, if that decision has the destiny of a nation tied to it. The decision-maker has to keep his calm in order to make correct decisions.
Gen. (Ret.) David Petraeus
No question about it. Mr. President, you are pursuing what many see as an impossible mission, frankly, trying to bring together a country that fractured during the Civil War, striving to revive an economy that was terribly damaged by the previous regime, seeking to forge new relationships with diverse neighbors in a very tough neighborhood. During the situation in Iraq, I was often asked, “How is it going?” And I would respond that it’s all hard all the time, but hard is not hopeless. And in that case, it proved that hard was not hopeless. What is it that gives you hope about your very challenging task?
Ahmed Al-Sharaa (Eng Translation)
I believe that my mission in Syria is much more difficult than yours in Iraq. It’s much more difficult in Syria than yours in Iraq, of course. And Iraq, it was limited. But Syria has faced a lot of disruptions over the past years, and we are focusing on economic development, all the policies and building capabilities. All that we go… Even the people that we put in the ministries, we chose businessmen or people who have high expertise in leading economical development. We’re internationally and are aware of the national economy and the nature of the economy in Syria. We are focused on building and revitalizing the economy. Also, we have a lot of human resources. Syria is a people that love work, and they have diverse expertise. And in its nature, in the genetics of the Syrian people, they are commerce and trade people. So please, lift the sanctions and see what we can reach.
(Applause)
Gen. (Ret.) David Petraeus
You know, in recent years, I was occasionally asked to assess the different groupings in Syria. And obviously, I assessed that the Islamic State and then al-Qaeda, that they were not reconcilable. But when I was asked about the organization that you built, HTS, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, I said, “I actually believe that we could work with these individuals, that they were nationalists, certainly, yes, a degree of political Islam. But frankly, what you have done since toppling the Bajar al-Assad regime has validated what it is that I assessed it.” And I was criticized, by the way, quite considerably. I just want to tell you, really, on behalf of all the people who are here, that this conversation has truly filled me with enormous hope. It has been very, very heartening and illuminating. Your vision is powerful and clear. Your demeanor itself is very impressive as well. And so, again, on behalf of all here and all those that are watching virtually and so forth, we thank you for sharing your vision today. We wish you strength and wisdom in the difficult work ahead. We obviously hope for your success in sha’ala, because at the end of the day, your success is our success. Thank you very much, Mr. President.
(Applause) (Speaking Arabic)
Ahmed Al-Sharaa (Eng Translation)
We are for us to sit today, and we talk about the future of Syria. I believe that Syria is capable of fixing its problems, and Syria is capable of being part of the international community. Syria, today, I correct, might seem weak and vulnerable, but it has a strong influence regionally and internationally. The right choices, our
Ahmed Al-Sharaa (Eng Translation)
people have suffered from wrong choices by the international world or by the local regimes, but today we make better decisions, and we are amid cooperation and transparency from all parties involved. And also, there is peace, there’s love, there’s cordiality with the international community and Syria. And today, Syria represents an exceptional model to fix a lot of decisions that were made, a lot of wrong decisions that were made in the history that are going to be corrected. And I believe this is a great opportunity for the both of us in order to rebuild. Thank you.
(Applause)