“God willing,” the militant told his lieutenants, they would “be able to celebrate Eid al-Fitr in Aleppo and Damascus soon.” That militant was Abu Muhammad al-Jawlani, the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham — the Islamist coalition that took Aleppo by storm last week. As it turns out, his remarks — delivered in April to the leaders of his group’s militant wing — were not mere whimsy. He had a plan. And Eid al-Fitr is still four months away. It has become a common refrain in recent days that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham was able to take Syria’s second largest city in … Continue reading The Patient Efforts Behind Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s Success in Aleppo