COMMENTARY by Susan Katz Keating
Amid the celebrations, looting, and score-settling that follows the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, something far more enduring could emerge from the chaos: the contents of Syrian government records. These documents — if they exist — may prove more powerful than any weapon in reshaping Syria’s future.
Throughout the day on December 8, scenes of jubilation poured in from Damascus, including the central Umayyad Square. Once a stage for Assad’s choreographed displays of power, the square now has become a stark symbol of the vacuum left in his absence. Crowds converged there to wave flags, climb atop statues, and film the spectacle with smartphones, documenting history in real time.
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Reports soon emerged that Assad and his family had fled to Moscow, and were granted asylum by their patrons in Russia. For a dictator who once claimed he would “live and die in Syria,” the story of his flight was its own indictment.
But revolutions don’t end with fireworks alone. Power vacuums invite chaos, and Syria’s rebel factions are unlikely to become a unified coalition. The celebratory roar of liberation soon may give way to political infighting. And already, Turkish-backed armed groups launched an attack Sunday on a town controlled by Kurdish-led forces.
Governance, as always, will be a more complicated process than conquest.
This brings us back to the records — not just as relics of the past, but also as leverage. If Assad’s regime kept even partial records, the documents could expose a treasure trove of secrets with the potential to spark tribunals, or to sow distrust and division among Syria’s rebel factions.
For the United States, these documents hold a particular urgency. They may contain answers to one of the most haunting questions of the last decade: What happened to Austin Tice? The American journalist disappeared in Syria on August 13, 2012, while reporting on the war. If there’s a folder in some Syrian file cabinet marked with Tice’s name, its contents could bring long-sought answers to his family and the broader world.
The Tice case is more than a personal tragedy; it’s also a symbol of the larger brutality that defined Assad’s rule. Thousands of political prisoners already have been freed from his notorious torture dungeons. But for every freed prisoner, there are many who did not survive. The files may hold evidence of their fate — names, dates, and details. Such revelations would shape Syria’s path forward, and bolster a much needed reckoning.
For now, Damascus celebrates. But soon, more work begins. This story, much like the revolution, is far from over.
Susan Katz Keating is the publisher and editor in chief at Soldier of Fortune.
