Sam Heller

6. To the extent that there’s a trade USG can make with the Russians to allow them back into Idlib: Given everything we know about Russian aims in Syria, it’s likely not going to be a trade opposition supporters will enjoy.

5. But there’s also very little they can do now that Turkey and Russia have closed ranks, and Russia has declared Idlib an Astana de-escalation zone and excluded the U.S. from its airspace.

4. USG and allied systems are very aware of Hurras al-Din and very interested in what its members are up to. They do not need to be reminded that these Jordanians are dangerous. They would like to kill these people, if possible.

3. I would be reluctant to insist that HTS is wholly locally focused, particularly when a) I do not see secret information about people doing squirrelly stuff and b) part of the group’s raison d’etre is harboring foreign fighters who are themselves nodes in global networks.

2. In any case, the relationship between HTS and Hurras al-Din is not clear. That HTS caught and released a few very vocal problem-causers – while emphasizing its issue was specifically with them, not with AQ loyalists per se – is not rock-solid evidence of mutual hostility.

1. USG is entirely aware of the apparent split between HTS and al-Qaeda. But there are legal and practical reasons to treat the group as an extension of Nusrah, not something distinct that requires independent designation.

#Breaking from SANA on Dara'a: Local elderly ride bicycles. https://www.sana.sy/?p=761310 

UN agencies currently provide cross-border aid on a notification-only (not approvals) basis, per UNSCR 2165 and its later iterations. More controversial is their inability to take advantage of the resolution’s authorization for notification-only cross-line distributions.https://twitter.com/sheydemann/status/1001987054643875840 …

So weird that John Bolton is ascendant, and yet there are almost no mustaches here in DC. Join the parade, guys.