Syria's President Makes His Debut on the World Stage

From jihadist to statesman President Ahmed al-Shara yesterday became the first Syrian leader to address the U.N. General Assembly since 1967, when Lyndon Johnson was in the White House and Leonid Brezhnev ran the Kremlin. It was a stunning turnabout for al-Shara, a former rebel leader once affiliated with Al Qaeda. He is still officially designated as a terrorist by the U.S. and the U.N. In the speech, he described the decades of oppression Syria suffered under former President Bashar al-Assad, and highlighted his efforts to remake Syria's image. "Syria has transformed from an exporter of crisis to an opportunity…