Al-Sharaa’s long road to the White House

Kaseer on the grounds in Barisha, Syria, where American Delta Force commandos conducted a mission to kill al-Baghdadi, leader of the Islamic State global network. Six years after the night raid, he still shudders at the memory of the clattering helicopters overhead. — David Guttenfelder/The New York Times

SIX years after the night raid in the quiet northwestern Syrian village of Barisha, Rashid Muhammad Kaseer still shudders at the memory of helicopters overhead.

Awakening, he thought a Syrian regime chopper might need to land.