ALEPPO EXPLODES Again! What's Behind the Sudden Rebel Uprising?

All right, hello everybody and welcome to Geopolitical Trends. Excited to be with you as always. Got an interesting topic for you, it's about the development, uh, is going on in Syria. I know some of you might be asking how come I never addressed Syria. It is very complicated and I always felt if I am to start on that path, I have to do the full spectrum of— because you cannot understand what's going on in Syria today without understanding the history of that country. And it's an old civilization, and I'm gonna be tackling a brief part of it today. So, uh, second thing is, I— because of the complications of, of the topics, and I've decided, okay, I might address it at some point, but this one here is very, very important for you to understand what triggers now the rekindling of the civil war, especially in the city of Aleppo, or Halab in Arabic language. So this is what I'm going to be providing you, my own analysis. Now FYI, guys, there is one specific aspect of this discussion I am not going to be doing here. I'm doing it elsewhere. You all know what it means, and I am going to be providing you the link as we move forward. For now, this is what I'm going to be focusing on. But before I do this, let me just say hi to our wonderful community. Edwin Toriano, good to see you. Brestas Kibasa, good to see you. Hang NG, as always. Uh, Cupid Cosmetics, Bobby, Athene Wu, good to see you. Timeline Dunkley, as always. Willie Homan, Losio Delgado from Montreal. I know there's a lot of stuff going on in Canada right now. I might have to do something about addressing some of those issues. Truth Seeker, as always. Ramble S01, good to see you. Hong Long, good to see you. And Wong Casey, Jerry, Larry, good to see you. Karakulak, as always. Om Lohani and Amelie Spahr, good to see you from— guess, guys, check this out. Check where this individual joining us from— Ethiopia. And once again, one of the oldest countries in the world. A lot of people do not know the history of Ethiopia back then, and, and so Eritrea as well. I was in that part of, of the world a few years ago, uh, crossing from Addis Ababa into— I think it was Ivory Coast, if I remember. So, so, Alamseen, good to see you, and Q7E. So, uh, before I'll delve deeper, guys, into, uh, discussing all this one here, I need to give you 2 things to remind you. Uh, one of them, it has to do with joining me tomorrow for my conversation part 2 with, uh, with Anna Malindog. So we're going to be talking about really what's going on inside Philippines. And I know a lot of people's been lashing out at her, whatever, because she's speaking the truth. So I will stand firm by providing her the platform here to speak the truth because, uh, my— I have friends from Philippines. I have close friends. One of them is Jonathan, John. So it's like a brother to me. So I've known John for forever. So originally from Philippines, but you know, it's kind of— Philippine people deserve better. So this is why I reached out to her to come on the show, and she was gracious enough to, uh, give us, uh, a time to share with us her knowledge. So She'll be here tomorrow at 0800 hours. Yes, it will be 8 o'clock my time, and it will be 10 o'clock, 10 PM Manila and Beijing time, for those who might be interested. Uh, second thing I want to share with you quickly here before we launch into our conversation is what just happened in South Korea. You all know what happened in South Korea. Does anybody know? Can you guys type in in the chat box quickly, see if you guys keeping up?

What is going on.

It just happened this morning and it might not move forward. Uh, hi Scott, Scott Wood, good to see you. Oh, my computer is again flickering. Uh, Francis Tango, as always, good to see you. And I'm seeing you're right, martial law, it is martial law in, in South Korea. However, the parliament So of course President of South Korea declared the martial law because he's accusing the opposition of anti-state activities. Uh, and, and again, we are not here to judge, guys. It's their country, they can decide whatever. Uh, same for us. I won't want anybody to, uh, tell me why you're gonna have to criticize this, that. No, no, no, no, no. It's just the fact that once again, for me, is the timing of all this. This is no coincidence, but the fact that took it upon himself, Yoon Seok-yeol, thinking that he will have this dictatorial instinct, if I may use the term, he was pushed back by the parliament. And as a matter of fact, the South Korean lawmakers now have overwhelmingly passed the motion to demand that the president lift the martial law. On, on, on the— so it'll be interesting to see what's going to be happening. I'm going to keep an eye on it, on that one, as we move forward. And the second thing is I need to share with you— check out this screen here. I'm gonna copy the link and I am going to share it with you because this is where I'm gonna be carrying my second part of my conversation. So should you, uh, want to join me there, so this is where I'm gonna be. So you just join me there. I will post it again later on as we move forward. So, all right, let's get into our topic here. First of all, like we always, we have to ask the key questions. Okay. Wow, wow, my screen is flickering so bad. You guys can see me, right? Yeah, please give me thumbs up. I want to make sure Rafael, good to see you. Uh, yeah, if you can give me a thumbs up, I will. Uh, uh, no, you are right. Okay, thank you, uh, Milti. You are right. No, no, you don't need to contribute to the PC. No, I'll— I believe it or not, I was planning on getting one as part of the donations that I get from the community. Remember I'm very careful with money. I don't waste money. So I, I, I, uh, I had that in plan and I intend to do this. It's just, uh, my computer probably is getting old. So straightforward, there's no being shy about it. I'll say it. So, but I intend to get one and I am gonna get one. So anyway, let's ask the questions here. First question is, why this sudden turn of events? Because there was a stalemate in Aleppo since 2020. Why all of a sudden there is this reemergence of the rebels taking over? Second question is, who's behind the funding and the training? You know, and this is one of the reasons why I have to do part of the other conversation in the other location, because I'm gonna detail some stuff we can't be detailing here. Yeah, it's funny, we're still dealing with this here, but it is what it is. So I always think positive. And third question is What's the objective? All this ain't happening in, in, in a vacuum. There is a specific reason for why this is happening, and that's exactly what I am going to be addressing for you in this particular, uh, uh, uh, live stream here. So like I mentioned before in my description, Aleppo, or Halab for those who speak Arabic, uh, used to be like one of the hallmark for, uh, excuse me, When the Syrian president Bashar Assad— let me see if I can have picture of— yeah, here is a picture of Bashar Assad with the Russian president Vladimir Putin. Uh, it used to be like a symbol for his triumph into the Syrian war. I remember when the Syrian war, civil war started back 2010, 2011. I, uh, I was still in Washington at that time. I said, Mike, my word, This isn't gonna be over for over a decade plus, if— and here we are. Why, why, why are you— why am I saying this? I'm saying this because of my understanding of the complexities of the dynamics, political one, that is in that part of the world. There's a saying to those who study, uh, uh, uh, international relations when it comes down to West Asia or Middle East. I'm gonna be using the terms interchangeably for my Western audience, just in case. Uh, all the roads, all the political roads have to pass through Damascus. That was the saying. Why? Because it was always the center of what's going on, even till today. And this is why the cities like Damascus, like Halab, Aleppo, like Idlib, those are the key locations that play a role in really impacting the geopolitical trajectory of West Asia or Middle East, that is. And this is why we need to understand as to this triumph now in the city of Aleppo now has turned into a sort of battlefield, if I may use the term. So I had a chance to read again in Arabic language an article written by Zubair Amin, and of Of course, when you read in both languages, you will be in a better position to acquire the depth of the— things can be lost in translation. I'm not denying this. And again, this is where I come in, is because I'm gonna be providing you my own analysis that was not disclosed in the article. The article provided just a landscape, if I may use the term, a frame of why the conflict is already, uh, or, uh, uh, uh, raging again that part of the world. So, well, when you think about it, 8 years ago or so, when the Russian airstrikes— because Russia played a major role in maintaining the, uh, uh, Assad in power, but Russia has its own reasons. And what comes to mind to that is the Tartus naval base, which is a Russian naval base there. So, and what happened is, because during that time, 8 years ago, with the intervention of the Russians, that one had marked sort of a critical juncture into the conflict, civil war that is, in Syria. So, and once again, now we asking ourselves why all of a sudden the city has fallen back in the hands of rebel. Not all of it, by the way, let me just make that clear. The rebel controls about 20% only. And mainly in the north. And I'm going to be sharing geography with you and put things in perspective. Now, this is where you're going to have to think in terms— as an, as, as, as a geopolitical observer, you're going to be asking yourself, is this a challenge for just the Assad regime, or is this a reflection of a much bigger problem? And some of you already in the chat box put in some comments, and I read them earlier before I came on the air, uh, and they were spot on. Like, for example, actually, let's, let us just share this because that's what we are in our community. We just share things. And, uh, let, let, let me go all the way back to the top. And, uh, like, for example, uh, Kibasa, you wrote, uh, uh, rebels are supported by the US and Turkey. It's very known. I can see the logic into that. And the reason why I can see the logic is because they are the forces, so-called the democratic force, that we are providing support behind the scenes. So is Turkey, because it has to do also with the Kurds in a part of Syria in the north. So Turkey and the US interests sort of converge on one particular aspect, and that aspect is provide support to the, uh, uh, uh, opposition. Some of you might say that was back then. Why am I saying this? Because remember, the Russian president brokered the deal between Syria and, uh, Turkey. And the proof is right here. That was the meeting that took place, anticipated one, between Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey and Bashar al-Assad of Syria. Of course Turkey will have to play both sides. Turkey have always done that. It's, it's now our— it's all about national interest. And this is why, one of the reasons, just to give you a heads up, guys, as to why we never wanted to share the technology of the F-35s with the Turks. They still ask you for it, and we said no. We kind of flipped on them, and there is a reason for that. And the reason for it, because when Turkey went ahead and purchased the S-400 missile system from Russia, that, that system will be able to detect F-35s in no time. So the United States, Washington, decided, you know what, let's cut the Turks loose. Doesn't matter, ally or not. And to me, it was never about allies anyway. So that is one of the reasons why, uh, it never worked. So, and this is why you are asking yourself now to go back to our topics here, how come all of a sudden it was stability in Aleppo since 2020? All of a sudden it really fermented within just a few weeks. As a matter of fact, it wasn't about a few weeks, that took about a few months ago. Pardon me, uh, took about a few months ago, uh, when these rebels were being trained, equipped, funded on all this, and I'm gonna be detailing few of this. So let's first get into geography, okay? Because I want to share with you some things about geography you need to know. All right, let me share the map, and I give credit as always to World Atlas because that's the map. All right, let me make the screen bigger here just for you to see. There we go. And I'm gonna be zooming up and down or, or moving up and down just to highlight to you. You're looking at the city of Aleppo, or Halab for those who speak Arabic. Now you see it's in the north with the closer to the Turkish, uh, borders, the Euphrates River and so on. Is this strategic possession or location of Aleppo. And this is why you are noticing these tensions in that part of the country. But for now, let's focus on the geography. So when you think about— yeah, it's West Asia. Of course, we go by the term also of the Middle East, but once again It's for the Western audience. They do not— and when you say West Asia, they will be confused as to what are we talking about here. Sorry, and I'm gonna say it, I don't hold back. The notion of understanding geography is not well here in the United States. The same way with the history, if I may use the term. So we're using the term Western Asia or Middle East, that is just for the sake of making it easier for everybody to understand. So it is located in the northern and eastern hemispheres of the Earth, and it is bordered by 5 Asian nations, or West Asian nations, that is Turkey in the north, Lebanon in the west, Iraq in the east, Jordan in the south, and Israel into the southwest. And it is located also to the west of the Mediterranean Sea, which stretches, which stretches along the entire Syrian coastline. So when you look at the map, when you look at the map, here is the Mediterranean Sea, here is the city of Tartus. This is why the Russians have their naval— their naval base. Why is this access to the Mediterranean Sea? Because it's very crucial. Latakia is another major city. Raqqa is another major city.

Hama—

Hama is when the current president's father, Hafez al-Assad, back in the '80s conducted some major, major crackdown on the rebellions there. So you get the city of Aleppo and the city of Hama, Homs also, which is nearby here. All this been also, uh, centers for tensions against the regime in Syria. But you have to understand the history of Syria. And when you go all the way down, you You seeing Daraa, which is closer, right there on the Golan Heights. Yeah, this is why it's very, very important to understand, uh, uh, uh, uh, geography. Very, very, very important. So they are about, uh, just to give you a heads up here, there are about 14, uh, governorates, or, or in Arabic they use the term muhafada. There are 14. I'm not going to go through them. Suffice it to mention the key ones like Aleppo Daraa, Damascus, Deir ez-Zor, Hama, Homs, Idlib, Latakia, Quneitra, Raqqa, and Tartus. Those are some of them. So now here is the key important information that I need you to understand. Let me stop sharing this one here. That I need you to understand is that when it comes down to just between the Homs governorate and Aleppo. Aleppo is the most populous one, you know. Homs has the largest area, square footage, that is. So, and of course, Damascus, the capital, is the world— listen this carefully, guys— is the world's oldest continuously inhabited city in the world.

Because—

and I'm going to share it in history as to why that is. So let me share now some history with you about, uh, uh, and I have some pictures I want to share with you. This is an old picture from the ruins of Syria from way, way back. And by the way, I give credit to Nick Brandl because that's his picture. He's from Getty Images. So it's just, guys, it's always right to do If you ever do this kind of stuff, when you need to give a credit, you do give credit.

It's very, very important.

So, so why Syria is important to understand from a historical perspective? Syria is a home to one of the oldest civilizations in the world. Yeah, it's considered one of the oldest with a rich artistic cultural heritage, and it goes way back because from way back, it's ancient history. The political instability has been part of that. That includes the civil war. That's why you are witnessing what you are witnessing. So, and the country Syria, that is, has a very, very complex, uh, uh, uh, at a time, uh, during this tumultuous, uh, history. So, so let's go back to, uh, I don't know if I have another picture or not, uh This one, I think— no, no, this one is about what I'm going to be talking about soon. So let's, let's just continue with the— with what we're talking about. Let's go back to the ancient history. We're going way back, and I'm going to take you back roughly some about 700,000 years ago. Yeah, that's how old that is. So 700,000 years ago. As a matter of fact, archaeologists have— they have found human remains, the oldest human remains, uh, in Syria, which dates back through the calculations and the testing in a lab they did and all that to about 700,000 years. That's where archaeologists have uncovered the skeletons and bones of none other than Neanderthals who that lived in the region during that period. So now you think about one of the cities like, for example, Elba, which is a, you know, city in Syria that is so The city of Elba sort of emerged some 3,000— during 3,000 BC, before common era, that is. And it's one of the oldest settlements in that part of the world. So, and of course, Syria has been occupied, and I'm gonna just move quickly here, uh, been occupied and ruled by different empires that including— listen carefully, because it's very, very important to understand the impacts those empires that went through have left their mark on Syria. You have the Egyptians— when I say Egyptians, we're referring back to the pharaohs— the Hittites, Sumerians, Mitanni, Assyrians, Babylonians, Canaanites, Phoenicians, Armenians, Amorites, Persians, Greeks, and can anybody tell me the last empire, which one that is? If you can type in that in the chat box, please. It's a major empire that have had an impact on the world history. So the last one starts with an O-Y-A. You got it. Romans, Romans. Uh, while I'm here, I saw, uh, Raphael. I'm gonna share this. Thank you, Raphael, for your— when I do live stream by myself, guys, I can interrupt, but when I have guests, I, I can do that. Uh, Raphael, thank you so much for your super sticker. Uh, you wrote, my predictions: Khrushchev was removed after the missile crisis with Kennedy because they felt they made too many mistakes. Putin should be careful. You got a point there. That is why Putin stayed in Syria and got involved. I argued in one of the articles— I'm gonna dig it out and post it for you later on, guys— when Syria— when Russia mentioned we're gonna move some of our troops, the West misinterpreted that as Russia is leaving. It wasn't about leaving. What Russia was doing is to upgrade these systems by taking regiments and bringing one that's going to be taking care of, of the S-400 missile systems and certain missiles that were placed in Syria as of today. That was the reason why. So, so I just wanted to, uh, highlight this one for you guys. So now the idea that, uh, the Romans— and you're absolutely correct, so Uh, and as a matter of fact, to those who are religious, and I'm sure you read the Bible, if you read the Bible, it was even mentioned in the Bible. And that was through when it was stated in Paul when he cited the road to Damascus. That to me, the only reason I'm saying this is to mention to you how old, or to, or to highlight to you how old this, this country is. So the cities that is So Damascus is considered the largest city in Syria as the place where sort of Paul back then had a vision to lead the Christian convergence. This is why in Syria today there are Christians. There are Christians in both Syria and Lebanon and Iraq. So, so, and when the Roman Empire fell, Syria became of the Eastern of none other than Byzantine. That's why it's important. Fast forward to 637 AD, that's when the Muslim armies defeated the Byzantine Empire and took control of Syria. Moving forward to that, Damascus became the capital of the Islamic world. Yeah, it wasn't like what they say Mecca or— no, no, no, no, no, that was Damascus. As a matter of fact. So, but was replaced by which city? And I did mention this to you before. Which another Arab city in an Arabic country, in an Arab country that is, that became famous in the Arab world or Muslim world? That is just the city. If you can type, type the city here. And once again, guys, I'm just want you to be part of the conversation, no more, no less. Uh, Mecca? No, no, not Mecca. No, no, Mecca came later on. No, no, BM, you got it, it was Baghdad. Baghdad. That's why Baghdad was the center, center of the Arab and Islamic advancements in science, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, astronomy, medicine, uh, you name it, it was Baghdad because he moved from Damascus into Baghdad. So, so, and that is why Damascus eventually, as I said, became the capital of the Islamic world but was replaced by Baghdad in 750 AD. So, and of course, this change had led to an economic decline of Syria. It's common sense. This is exactly Why history is important. A lot of us here in the West do not get it. You will think we will learn from history. The decline that my country is going through now is reflected through history. And why? Because, for example, for us, when we get involved into more tensions, conflicts, and all that, while ignoring the economic prosperity of the people, the country will start to go down. This is exactly what we are experiencing. And that's the same thing now that happened back then. Syria declined, and the next— for the next several centuries, the region became unstable and was ruled by various groups. Now, it was till 1516 when the Ottoman Empire conquered Syria and remained in power until 1918. Why is this date important? Does anybody know? There was a major agreement that happened around this time, 1918, that changed the history of West Asia or the Middle East. Oh, Miltiman, you got it, you got it, is the Sykes-Picot. Yeah, very interesting. So I'm gonna share a quick video with you, one I was invited to do way back. And I want you to take a listen quickly here. I'm gonna fast forward as I move forward, uh, so this way we won't waste too much time because, uh, I scheduled the other one on the other platform for 13:00 hours. So we have about 15 more minutes here. Share screen. Okay. Oh, share screen here. All right, this is an interview I was asked to, uh I'll let you take a listen. And please give me a thumbs up if you can hear.

In this unit, you will learn how territory is organized at different scales from local to global. What that means is that people over time have had significantly different ideas about how Earth's surface should be organized and how power should be distributed within the territories. Or the space within boundaries, whether they are informal or formal like today's political map. One major theme in this unit is the relationship between countries, whether it's a beneficial one like trade agreements or provocative ones like the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The other main topic in this unit is the modern state. What is a state? What is a nation? What is the difference between the two, and why does it matter? The contemporary world map is shaped by forces like devolution, borders and walls, internal boundaries, and the rise of supranational organizations. The effects of colonialization and imperialism still play a major role in today's political structure. We will look at forces that bring states together, like a shared sense of culture, or forces that push them apart, like ethnic disputes. Finally, we will take a look at the role of terrorism in today's changing world. One of the most pressing topics in the news today is the human struggle occurring in and around Syria. The civil war there began after the Arab Spring of the early 2000s.. But the roots of this conflict have been growing in the region for much longer. We have with us again today Dr. David Oualaalou, an international security lecturer, regular contributor to Huffington Post, and author of The Ambiguous Foreign Policy of the United States Towards the Muslim World: More Than a Handshake, and the forthcoming book Volatile State: Iran in the Nuclear Age. Welcome, Dr. Oualaalou.

Thanks for having me.

Can you talk about how the borders in the Middle East have changed over time and how those changes have contributed to the current geopolitical status of the Middle East?

Certainly. Well, as 2007 unfolds, the Middle East continues to implode, and with each new event, it suggests greater threats to its people. Syria is ravaged by a civil war that no one knows the outcome of. Iraq is marred by sectarian violence. Yemen is a failed state. Then add to that the security and political instability in Iraq, and also the tensions now between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and what you have basically is a volatile stew of conflicting passions and ideologies. But before we move forward, We need to understand what are the reasons and the causes that led to this turmoil in the Middle East. The first thing that comes to mind is the secret agreement of the Sykes-Picot of 1916. When the borders were drawn back then, only they didn't realize that it will have an impact on today. Well, just a brief notion about the Sykes-Picot. That was a secret agreement. That was made between France and Britain. Mark Sykes represented the British government, and François Picot represented the French government. The negotiations for that agreement were conducted secretly, first of all, between November 1915 and March 1916. And in May 26th, 1916, the agreement was signed. And the deal was, as we see on the map here, the deal was that the A part will be given to France, will be under the control of France, and the B part will be under the control of Britain. And this is why till today you still see, for example, in Lebanon, people speak French over there. And the deal was, as the Sykes-Picot Agreement highlighted back then, that Lebanon will be under the control of France, which will be also a haven for Christians at the time, the Maronites and the Druze. On the other hand, you get the Palestinian territory, which was at the time around the Bekaa Valley, which with the main population of Jewish people. Then you have also the Bekaa Valley, which was given to— a land between the two rivers was given to the Shia, and also you have now the sectarian Sunni Muslims, mainly in Syria. So, so what we see today in the Middle East is a reflection of the secret agreements that Sykes and Picot made without taking into consideration certain aspects. There are 3 major points that I'd like to highlight as to the outcome of this agreement? The tribal lines, which means borders. If you look at on the Middle East now, with all the countries where they are, there's all those made-up borders, but those borders are made up without the context of the tribal mindset on it. So when the Sykes-Picot Pact made those borders, they did not take into consideration the impact of the tribal mentality, and that's how the Middle East is. And the third problem has to do with the emergence of nationalism. And that's what emerged in the '50s with Gamal Abdel Nasser in Egypt, followed by Syria, Hafez al-Assad, followed by, uh, Muammar Gaddafi in Libya, and followed also by Saddam Hussein in Iraq. So you take that into consideration with the younger generation now. Well, the younger generation has sort of reacted to that agreement. Your best example for it is the Arab Spring of 2011. So the Arab Spring was not about democracy. The Arab Spring was about social injustice. Because with the population, as a matter of fact, if you look at just the last 2 or 3— actually, the last 4 decades, the population in the Arab world has increased dramatically to about 330 million people. And the interesting aspect is, out of the 330 million, 2/3, which is about 220, are under the age of 35. Now, check this out. At the age of 35 with nothing to do, unemployed, that's a recipe for terrorism recruitment. And that's exactly the source because the source of the problems and part of the conflicts in the Middle East because you get lack of economic opportunities, failed education system. You know, the resources of the countries are only controlled by the few. And you add to that also the notion, uh, defeatist attitude towards the future. And you take all that into consideration to see how the Sykes-Picot Agreement that was done a century ago still impact the Middle East till today.

Thank you, Dr. Oualaalou.

Okay, I'm gonna stop right here, guys, because I am gonna have to move to the other location to finish my car. I didn't even get into the analysis yet. So here, by the way guys, check— here is the link for those who wants to join me within the next 10 minutes. So start at 13:00 hours. So this is what I'm gonna be there just to finish up my conversation there. But, but in any event, before I just wrap this up quickly here, and I'll of course I'll finish everything on the other location. The importance of understanding how the Sykes-Picot Agreement, it's kind of just turn things upside down. And this is why we're still seeing what we are witnessing here throughout the history of Syria, through this civil war that is reflective of a much involvement of the colonial powers back then. So, so, but when you think about, for example, the French reign uh, led to the uprising and revolt among the people in Syria. And from 1925— yeah, from '25 to '27, 1925 to 1927, Syrians united against the French, as a matter of fact, uh, for what was known as the Great Syrian Revolt. And this is why in 1936, what end— France and Syria end up negotiating a treaty of independence. And that's which allowed Syria to remain independent but gave France military and economic power. It's no different than the setting we are seeing in Japan right now, in South Korea, in Philippines, in Australia, we— Germany, uh, uh, Italy, with the United States having military presence on those territories. It's no different than back then. So fast forward to World War II, This is where British and French troops occupied Syria once again, but shortly after the war ended, Syria officially became independent country. In what year Syria became independent? Does anybody know? Can you type in the year quickly here, guys? What year Syria officially became independent? Okay, it takes a while to this show up here. Uh, uh, uh, yeah, 1946, that's what it was. So, uh, Ramples, you want the link? Okay, I'm gonna put the link for you guys here. Copy and Okay, I'm gonna put it in the chat box, guys. That's the link over there to the interview that I did back then. So you guys, uh, uh, you guys see it right there. So let me, let me put it in a banner for you, and, uh, you guys can, uh, add banner and you can check it out later on. So here's the link to that interview that I did. You might want to look back, 200 14, 15, something like that.

So, okay.

All right, guys, I'm gonna sign off here, and I will see you on the other location, or right here, so within 5 minutes or so. So I will see you over there. As always, remember, geopolitics impacts your daily life in more ways than one. And I'll talk with you soon. All right, guys, bye.