Assad's Reign In Syria Is Over, U.S. Strikes ISIS Targets, Trump Gives TV Interview

0:01After 54 years, the Assad's brutal reign in Syria is over. Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia with his family as rebel forces swept into Damascus, and Syrians emerged into a new reality. What kind of Syria is born in this moment? I'm Leila Fahdil, that's Michelle Martin, and this is Up First from NPR News. President Biden called the fall of the Assad regime a moment of historic opportunity, but he also warned of the potential risks. We're clear-eyed about the fact that ISIS will try to take advantage of the evacue. With the Trump administration coming in, how will he approach a new Syria? Trump also gave his first network TV interview since winning the election.

0:39I'm looking to make our country successful. Retribution will be through success. What did we learn about his approach for his second term? Stay with us. We'll tell you what you need to know to start your day.

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1:44This message comes from Dell Technologies. The new Dell PC with Intel Core Ultra helps you fast forward through busy work, leaving more time for you time. Get a new Dell PC at dell.com slash AI dash PC. Syrians woke up this morning to their first day in decades without the Assad regime ruling their lives. The Assad family came to power in 1970 when Richard Nixon was still in the early days of his first term as U.S. president. On Sunday, Russia confirmed that President Bashar al-Assad had fled to Moscow, while in Damascus, the capital, the rebels who seized control were led by an Islamist group still designated by the U.S.

2:25as a terrorist organization. Here to tell us what Syrians are making of this stunning new reality without Assad's brutal grip on power. We are joined from Beirut by NPR's Ruth Sherlock. Good morning, Ruth. Good morning. So Ruth, an 11-day rebel push in Assad is gone after over a decade of civil war. It's hard to even believe. What are we hearing from Syrians on their first day without the Assad regime in power? People are dazed and incredulous. You know, there are celebrations across the country. Like you said, you know, Leila, this regime was in power for over 50 years. And then there was 13 years of devastating civil war.

3:01And the Assad family seemed to have won. Then it collapsed like a house of cards. The regime collapsed in the space of just over a week. So there's now major celebrations across the country, but also among them millions of Syrian refugees, many of whom now want to return. NPR producer in Lebanon, Joad Ras Allah, went to Arsal. That's a town on the border with Syria where families have lived in tents for years. He asked a refugee there, Mahmoud Satouf, to describe what was happening. Now we are hearing the celebrations of the people. They are streaming that now they are free. Like their home country is free.

3:39You can hear the happiness in their voices. And, you know, in Damascus there's been celebrations, also some looting. but also Syrians are accessing places they've never been before, like Assad's family palace. This war plunged people into extreme poverty. Now you're seeing the opulence in which the Assad family lived, like sports cars in the garages, and Syrians are coming out of the palace holding fine china and silverware. Yeah, I was watching those videos as they walked through this palace, seeing the riches he lived in as so many lived in poverty. I've also seen the videos of thousands of prisoners freed and just moving, heartbreaking scenes.

4:16What do we know about them? Well, over 100 ,000 detainees are believed to be unaccounted for in Syria, and now their loved ones want to find them. So you've got families combing the Sednaya prison in Damascus. There's this huge complex. It was synonymous with fear and torture during the regime. Thousands of people have disappeared there. And now, you know, rights groups say that many of the prisoners have died there of neglect, of torture. There were mass executions in the prisons. But we're also seeing these incredible scenes of detainees being freed.

4:53What you're hearing here is the sound from a video showing cell doors being bashed open as prisoners, gaunt and grey and dazed, are crying wildly as they learn that the regime has fallen. Some are too injured to walk, so you're seeing them drag themselves towards the exit. And rescuers believe, though, there are many more prisoners underground in these cells behind thick walls. So now they're searching for a way to free them, too. Really quickly before I let you go, there's also an American who's been held for some 12 years, believed to be with the regime, Austin Tice, the American journalist who disappeared in Syria.

5:26What do we know there? President Biden says the White House believes he is alive and his parents, Mark and Deborah Tice, have never given up. They're speaking to the media, calling on Syrians to find Austin and help him. Deborah Tice said, direct him to his family, please. NPR's Ruth Sherlock. Thank you, Ruth. Thank you, Leila.

5:55President Biden said Sunday the U.S. is prepared to work with Syrians as they try to create a new government. Yet President-elect Trump is sounding a different note. To hear more on this, NPR's Greg Myrie is with us. Good morning, Greg. Hi, Michelle. First, the U.S. carried out numerous airstrikes in Syria. What can you tell us about that? Yeah, this was really big, Michelle. The U.S. military carried out this very large airstrike on Islamic State bases in central Syria. The U.S. was done because a sizable group of Islamic State fighters gathered to train, perhaps hoping to take advantage of the turmoil in Syria.

6:30So the U.S. says it hit some 75 targets. The U.S. forces entered Syria to fight the Islamic state a decade ago and defeated the group. About 900 U.S. troops remain in the country to prevent a resurgence. Now, President Biden said the U.S. would maintain this presence in Syria. He called Bashar al-Assad's ouster both a moment of risk and opportunity and said the U.S. will work with Syrians as they try to put together a new government. But what about Hayat al-Sham or HTS? That is the group that is now believed to be in power in Syria. They're still designated as a terrorist group by the U.S., aren't they?

7:06That's right. This group, HTS, has been on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations for more than a decade. That means the U.S. can't work with them directly right now, but the group is sounding more moderate, and they say they will work with all other Syrians. Now, Biden says the group is saying the right thing, but the U.S. will be closely watching their actions. So that's what President Biden is saying. President-elect Trump is striking a different tone. Tell us more about that and what should we expect from him? Yeah, Trump was on social media over the weekend. He said Syria is not a U.S. problem.

7:41The U.S. shouldn't get involved, should just let it play out. But that may be easier said than done, because as we've noted, the U.S. is already pretty deeply involved. And the U.S. troops are not just fighting the Islamic State, they're also protecting civilians. Muaz Mustafa is with the Syrian Emergency Task Force, an American aid group. He spoke about these displaced civilians in a barren area on Syria's southern border. He says they depend heavily on the U.S. military and have developed very close ties. If you spoke to any of these people and you asked them about the United States military and you asked them about the relationship between the two, those Syrians love the American military.

8:21So Iran and Russia were both big backers of Bashar al-Assad. What does this mean for them? Well, this was really the latest in a series of major setbacks for both of them. And Iran in particular, Iran had close relations with Assad that used Syria as a bridge to ship its weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon. But now Assad is gone. Hezbollah has been devastated by its war with Israel. The same is true for another Iranian proxy, Hamas in Gaza. I spoke with Ganul Tol with the Middle East Institute in Washington and asked her where this leaves Iran. Losing Syria will deal a huge blow to Iran and its proxies in the region.

9:02And that's why I think right now the leaders in Tehran must be feeling quite anxious. And what about Russia? A huge loss for Russia as well. This was Russia's main partner in the region for decades. But Russia was preoccupied with the war in Ukraine. It carried out a few strikes in recent days. Clearly was not able or willing to provide significant support. That is NPR's Greg Meir. Greg, thank you. Sure thing.

9:37And now we have another window into how President-elect Donald Trump says he plans to govern. In his first network television interview since winning the election, he sat down with Kristen Welker on NBC's Meet the Press. I won on two things, the border. And more than immigration, you know, they like to say immigration. I break it down more to the border, but I won on the border and I won on groceries. It's a very simple word, groceries. He sung the praises of the power of tariffs. He said he doesn't intend to cut off access to abortion pills. And he said mass deportations have to be done. For more on this, we are joined by NPR senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith.

10:14Good morning, Tam. Good morning. Okay, so you covered Trump's first term. You followed him and his time in office very closely. What did this interview tell you about how he is approaching his second term? For much of the interview, he spoke in soft tones. He talked about unity and said that it would be the theme of his inaugural address. These are things that he has said when he feels confident and appreciated. And he voiced something that he's voiced many times before over the past eight years, that success brings unity. Take this moment where Welker asked him about whether he plans to prosecute President Biden.

10:47I'm really looking to make our country successful. I'm not looking to go back into the past. I'm looking to make our country successful. So retribution will be through success. If we can make this country successful, that would be my greatest, that would be such a great achievement. Bring it back. So you could call this the generous victor version of Trump. But there were other times in this interview where he let his old grudges slip through. OK, so tell us more about that. Well, success is retribution was all fine and good until the House January 6th committee came up. For what they did, honestly, they should go to jail.

11:28So you think Liz Cheney should go to jail? For what they did? Everyone on the committee you think should go to jail. I think everybody, anybody that voted in favor. Are you going to direct your FBI director and your attorney general to send them to jail? No, not at all. I think that they'll have to look at that. It's not entirely clear what he thinks they should go to jail for. But in an unedited transcript, he spent a lot of time repeating a false claim that the committee had destroyed evidence. It didn't. And he said he plans to follow through on his pledge on day one to pardon people who've been convicted of crimes for their activities on January 6th, though he did say the pardons would be considered on a case by case basis.

12:06OK, so let's go back to policy. Immigration, a signature issue for him since his first run for office. Did he make some news here? Yeah, he did. He said he wants to come up with a legislative solution for dreamers who were brought to the U.S. as young children and who have been living here in some cases for decades now. And he repeated his desire to end birthright citizenship on day one. And then he conceded that it may require a constitutional amendment, which definitely couldn't happen on day one. As for his campaign pledge of mass deportations, he said he planned to start by deporting criminals, but eventually it would have to move beyond them.

12:43Asked about mixed status families, he suggested the only way to avoid family separation would be to send American citizen children away with their undocumented parents. Quote, you have to send them all back. And he acknowledged there, well, could be images that emerge from these policies that turn the public against them. That is. NPR's Tamara Keith. Tam, thank you. You're welcome.

13:10And that's Up First for Monday, December 9th. I'm Michelle Martin. And I'm Leila Faudil. For your next listen, why not consider Consider This from NPR? We here at Up First give you the three big stories of the day. Our Consider This colleagues take a different approach. They dive into a single news story and what it means to you in just 15 minutes. Listen now on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Today's episode of Up First was edited by James Heider, Andrew Sussman, Roberta Ramton, H.J. Mai, and Alice Wolfley. It was produced by Zia Butch, Katie Klein, and Ben Abrams. We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott and our technical director is Carly Strange.

13:45We hope you'll join us again tomorrow.

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