We’re waking up to a new Middle East landscape that shifts the balance of power away from Syria and Iran in Israel’s favor (for now), while it appears that TikTok could actually be banned in the United States, further restructuring the virtual landscape.
We had something completely different planned for today, but wouldn’t you know it, the world decided to shift on its geopolitical and virtual axes.
However, we’re waking up to a dramatically different geopolitical landscape in the Middle East, where more than a half-century of family, dynastic rule in Syria has ended in a lightning-fast, Sunni-extremist offensive that toppled the Shia-led, oppressive Bashar Al-Asaad regime after 13 years of civil war.
This is a really big deal – not only does it end an iron-fisted dictatorship mired in civil war and end minority Shia rule in Syria, but it robs Iran of a vital partner in the Arab world to implement its agenda.
Tehran long used Syrian territory to move arms to its allies/puppets in the region: Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.
Rest assured, Israeli war hawks are lighting cigars and licking their lips at the prospect of turning Gaza into a parking lot now that the Hamas weapons pipeline from Iran has dried up.
Expect Hamas desperation to result in even more horrific acts, like using Palestinian civilians as human shields.
The fall of Al-Asaad in Syria was unthinkable for most of my career, much of it spent covering the Middle East. His family’s continuing reign was a given since I started reporting from the region in 1998.
Not, not only does this development shift the balance of power in a region already mired in violence, but it will surely set off another great wave of Syrian migration, which has already caused consternation among Europe's less-sympathetic nations (I'm talking about you, Hungary, Serbia, and others).
With many nations in Europe leaning further right in recent years, I fear Muslim migrants fleeing dangers at home will not be welcomed, as they were a decade ago in Germany and other European countries.
The incoming Trump administration is already promising to deport millions of migrants, so don't expect the United States to welcome more Syrians or anyone in desperate need of a safe place to start anew.
Meanwhile, it looks like TikTok could actually be banned in the United States.
Unless the Supreme Court hears an appeal by the social media platform some consider a Chinese virtual Trojan Horse designed to mine our data while filling our minds with conspiracy theories and ant-democratic gibberish, it could well become off-limits to Americans.
Many in the U.S. make a sizable portion of their income on TikTok, some of whom trade in conspiracy theories and anti-democratic gibberish, while others either perform viral dances or assure us that ancient aliens built the pyramids.
This potential blow to TikTok and its users comes as Elon Musk has fully transformed Twitter (we’re NEVER calling it “X”) into a fascistic, fanboy hellscape from which millions, like Postindustrial, have already jumped ship for “Bluesky,” the surprisingly delightful alternative.
We’ve already connected with loads of great people in Postindustrial Communities on Bluesky and are working to migrate the rest of our following from Musk’s brotastic, crypto-peddling dumping ground to the new platform.
Hope to see you there.
