The Emerging, Uncomfortable Questions in Syria's Post-Assad Power Struggle

As Syria emerges from more than five decades of Assad family rule, the pressing question is who can be trusted to govern the fractured, war-torn nation. Few anticipated the events in Damascus this past week, with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the leading rebel group, taking control. As the initial euphoria fades, uncomfortable questions about the country’s future are arising.

“Syrian people are against Islamist reign. All my friends refuse the Al Qaeda flag next to the Syrian flag. We want a civic country; we want to live in a peaceful society, not a fanatical one,” one 30-something Damascus professional, who requested anonymity out of fear of upsetting rebel groups, tells me. “Is this an occupation? Many Syrians are starting to worry.”