Welcome to a breaking event interview on the extraordinary and rapidly unfolding developments in Syria, covering late November to today, December 8th.

In this special episode, we're joined by a retired CIA senior intelligence service officer and former State Department diplomat, Glenn Korn.

This conversation is part of the Mad Minute Glenn series delivering sharp geopolitical analysis

and expert interviews on critical global issues. Glenn brings unmatched expertise to the discussion

with over three decades of service in the U.S. government, including assignments in Turkey, Russia,

and extensive work on Middle Eastern affairs and counterterrorism. If you're curious about

Glenn's remarkable career,

we previously explored his experiences in both the CIA and State Department on combat story.

In today's episode, we dive into the key events leading to Assad's departure from Damascus,

the swift advances of HTS and SDF forces toward the Capitol, the broader implications for

regional players, and what strategic moves the U.S. should consider next.

With that, please enjoy this expert analysis with Glenn Korn.

All right, Glenn, thanks so much for taking the time to sit down and walk through some current events with us.

Thanks for having me. It's great to see you, Ryan, and I hope the family is well, and everyone's getting ready

for the holidays.

Likewise.

Likewise.

And for people listening, I mean, we're filming this the evening of Sunday, December 8th,

which I feel is important, just given some of the events in Syria.

So I just wanted to start with a very high level timeline for people who are tracking this.

Because things are unraveling so quickly, some of the dates might not be perfect.

But effectively late November, you've got Hayat Terrier al-Shahm, which will have HTS,

...