Syria's rebel leaders have control of the country. Now what?

The new Islamist-led government promises moderation, but officials aren't committing to such issues as women's rights or free elections

- Jared Malsin

Victorious Islamist rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa spends his days conferring with advisers and meeting a stream of visitors—U.S. diplomats and leaders from Turkey, Jordan, Qatar and Syria's religious sects. They all want to know the same thing: How does Sharaa plan to govern the war-battered nation of 23 million people?

Sharaa, a guerrilla fighter who led the campaign that toppled the regime of Bashar al-Assad, is seeking an answer. So far, the U.S.-designated terrorist has shed the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani, which drew the world's attention, and swapped combat fatigues for a suit.

Sharaa fought with al Qaeda in Iraq as an anti-U.S. jihadist and, in recent years, has sought to recast himself as a more moderate figure, promoting a pragmatic brand of Islamist politics. He now counsels patience.

"People have big ambitions, but today we must think realistically," he told reporters after the rebels' swift victory.

"Syria has many problems, and they won't be solved with a magic wand."

Sharaa's rebel group, which had for years been running a tiny swath of northwest Syria, now controls cosmopolitan Damascus and rules over millions of Syrians including Alawites, Christians and Kurds. In Aleppo, the first city claimed in the recent offensive, the group left churches untouched and promised to govern inclusively.

Sharaa, leaders of his Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, HTS, as well as allied resistance groups, face decisions that open the door to peaceful rebuilding after more than a decade of civil war or new rounds of sectarian fighting fueled by the meddling of outside powers.

The rebel leader's immediate challenge is maintaining order and government services. His group, HTS, had essentially administered a single city in a rebel-held enclave of five million people. To govern the whole country is a tall order. Around 25,000 fighters are spread across Syria's largest cities, and civilian authorities also are stretched thin.