BEIRUT: When Bashar al-Assad was forced out of power by rebels in Syria, Jude Khouja and his Syrian friends in the US felt they had to do something to help rebuild a country dear to them after decades of brutal rule and conflict.
They spent the days after Assad's overthrow in December talking on WhatsApp about their options under the new rulers who said they want to establish a free market economy and open Syria for foreign investment.
