Power has shifted in one of the most unstable regions on earth.

I took a break from most forms of media over the last few weeks to give my already busy mind a rest. Whether I focused on the news or not, I figured that anything of significant importance would find its way onto my radar.

And that happened tonight. What caught my attention was the fall of Bashar al-Assad — the long-reigning dictator of Syria.

I don’t know much about Syria or the bloody civil war that has engulfed the country over the last 13 years. And I don’t know the details of what caused the Assad regime to fall. However, I certainly recognize the significance of it all.

From what little I’ve read, the Syrian people are ecstatic. And that’s understandable. But who forced him out? The terms freedom fighter and terrorist tend to be interchangeable, depending on how they affect the West.

The Mujahideen were the good guys when they fought the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. But we saw them in a different light when they evolved into the Taliban.

While I don’t know the nuances of the Syrian situation, I know enough about the chaos between the different factions in the region. And considering the already unstable state of things in Israel-Palestine and Lebanon — both bordering Syria — more instability could worsen the region.

I’m not trying to put a damper on the fall of Assad. I’m just thinking out loud as I try to consider every angle of an incredibly complex situation — one that I only understand minuscule parts of.

The people of Syria deserve so much more than they’ve had. And they’ve been fighting this regime for over a decade.

What I can’t shake is the timing of it all. With the uncertainty of Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Palestine, this is a geo-political curve ball that I wasn’t expecting.