Tag: syria

How the US and Israel Destroyed Syria and Called it Peace

In the famous lines of Tacitus, Roman historian, “To ravage, to slaughter, to usurp under false titles, they call empire; and where they make a desert, they call it peace.”

In our age, it is Israel and the U.S. that make a desert and call it peace.

The story is simple. In stark violation of international law, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ministers claim the right to rule over seven million Palestinian Arabs. When Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands leads to militant resistance, Israel labels the resistance “terrorism” and calls on the U.S. to overthrow the Middle East governments that back the “terrorists.” The U.S., under the sway of the Israel Lobby, goes to war on Israel’s behalf.

The fall of Syria this week is the culmination of the Israel-U.S. campaign against Syria that goes back to 1996 with Netanyahu’s arrival to office as Prime Minister. The Israel-U.S. war on Syria escalated in 2011 and 2012, when Barack Obama covertly tasked the CIA with the overthrow of the Syrian Government in Operation Timber Sycamore. That effort finally came to “fruition” this week, after more than 300,000 deaths in the Syrian war since 2011.

Syria’s fall came swiftly because of more than a decade of crushing economic sanctions, the burdens of war, the U.S. seizure of Syria’s oil, Russia’s priorities regarding the conflict in Ukraine, and most immediately, Israel’s attacks on Hezbollah, which was the key military backstop to the Syrian Government. No doubt Assad often misplayed his own hand and faced severe internal discontent, but his regime was targeted for collapse for decades by the U.S. and Israel.

Since 2011, the Israel-U.S. perpetual war on Syria, including bombing, jihadists, economic sanctions, U.S. seizure of Syria’s oil fields, and more, has sunk the Syrian people into misery.

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Trump’s Syrian Opportunity

With the shock overthrow of the Assad dynastic dictatorship that ruled Syria since 1971, new diplomatic opportunities are opening for the incoming administration. If President-elect Donald Trump is serious about his “ending forever wars” rhetoric, Syria offers him a chance to grab a low-hanging fruit.

Encouragingly, Trump himself seems to realize that. Commenting on Syria, he suggested that the events unfolding there are “not our fight”. He said that the “U.S. should have nothing to do with it (the situation in Syria). Let it play out. Do not get involved”. 

The Vice-President-elect JD Vance echoed this sentiment. When the neoconservative Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin categorically declared that in Syria “Freedom won[;] Russia, Iran, Hezbollah and Assad lost,” Vance admitted that such comments “made him nervous because the last time this guy was celebrating events in Syria, we saw the mass slaughter of Christians and a refugee crisis that destabilized Europe”. 

Trump-Vance’s prudence, as opposed to the wildly optimistic hawkish takes, is well advised. As Stimson Center’s Emma Ashford warned, “the track record of Arab Spring revolutions suggests a healthy amount of caution is warranted on where this is headed”. 

That certainly applies to Syria. Assad’s regime was an odious tyranny even by Middle Eastern standards, and its collapse is unlamented. The leader of the Islamist terrorist opposition Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)—formerly associated with Al-Qaeda—and the de facto new ruler of Syria is Ahmed al-Sharaa, more widely known as Mohammed al-Jolani, who is considered a terrorist by the U.S. and has a bounty of $10 million on his head. Since seizing power, he has embarked on a charm offensive promising an inclusive governance respectful of Syria’s ethnic and confessional diversity. Yet gruesome details of the extrajudicial executions of former regime officials and members of the Alawite religious group (to which the Assad clan happens to belong) are already emerging.

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The Syrian Rebellion: Who Are the Big Losers?

After an inconceivably fast twelve day march through Syria by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is in exile in Moscow, his government has fallen, the more than five decade’s long Ba’ath rule of Syria is over and a group descended from Al-Qaeda is in control of Syria.

The Assad regime only survived as long as it did because of Hezbollah ground support, Russian air support and significant Iranian assistance in the first round of the Syrian rebellion over a decade ago. This time, none of that was available.

Hezbollah had been critically wounded by airstrikes and assassinations in its war with Israel. To concentrate on its war with Israel, Hezbollah had withdrawn forces from Syria. And its ceasefire agreement with Israel prevented its presence in South Lebanon, hampering its ability to assist Syria. Iran had been weakened both locally by its exchange of attacks with Israel and regionally by the weakening of Hezbollah. Russia was focussed on its own war with Ukraine.

But it is not entirely clear that Iran and Russia lacked the ability to come to Syria’s aid more significantly. Despite the forces and material being committed to Ukraine, a recent report by Chatham House concludes that “Russia’s global power projection capabilities are undiminished.” General Christopher Cavoli, the commander of United States European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe, similarly told a congressional audience of the House Armed Services Committee that “Much of the Russian military has not been affected negatively by this conflict… despite all of the efforts they’ve undertaken inside Ukraine.”

Russia promised to “continue to provide support to President Assad.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia is “actively studying measures needed to stabilise the situation in the region,” and Syrian military sources said Russia had promised that more military aid would start arriving withing 72 hours.

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US joins Israel in destroying Syrian military facilities and its navy by launching attacks against ISIS targets in Syria – 350 Israeli strikes, 75 US strikes – so far.

It’s only a matter of time before the supporters of Assad are rounded up and “prosecuted”.

Here’s a few headlines, the first describes events so far.

Syria – live: Israel fires more than 350 strikes against Syria as Mohammed al-Bashir appointed temporary PM

Here’s a report of US strikes:

Shockwaves in Syria – U.S. Targets Extremists After Regime Topples | RightWing

And another from a UK tabloid about the looting of the presidential palace, Iranian, Italian and Iraqi embassies and the central bank.

Syrian rebels loot banks, ransack Assad’s millions & storm embassies after toppling tyrant as nation descends into chaos | The Sun

Lots of embedded videos and pictures in those articles.

Israel is going to establish a “sterile zone” beyond the Golan Heights whilst the US is poised to recognise the rebel leader, as he says that elections will be held by March 2025.

There is no mention of UK and EU military involvement.

No doubt tens of billions of dollars are on the way from NATO countries – starting with humanitarian aid to the areas that have been blown to bits.

There are estimates of a million displaced Syrians out of the country’s 22 million or so remaining people.

There is also no news of any Russian, Iranian, Iraqi or Turkish military operations. Neither is there any news about the activity of Kurds seeking to establish an autonomous region in the north of Syria.

Right now, the Israeli and US forces are acting with impunity and with no consequences for their actions.

I doubt this is the end of the conflict or its repercussions.

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IDF Tanks Reach Just 25km From Damascus As Netanyahu Declares Golan Is ‘Ours Forever’

With Assad overthrown and Syria in shambles, Israel has declared the permanent annexation of the Golan Heights. “The Golan Heights,” announced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “will forever be an inseparable part of the State of Israel.”

He said that control over this historical Syrian territory “guarantees” Israel’s security and sovereignty and is of “great importance”. The announcement came as Israel pounded with airstrikes numerous Syrian bases, abandoned army assets, parked warplanes and helicopters, and even naval ships off Latakia.

The attacks kept going throughout the night, as Israeli and international sources describe:

Regional security sources and officers within the now-fallen Syrian army who spoke to Reuters described Tuesday morning’s airstrikes as the heaviest yet, hitting military installations and airbases across Syria, destroying dozens of helicopters and jets, as well as Republican Guard assets in and around Damascus.

“The rough tally of 200 raids overnight had left nothing of the Syrian army’s assets, said the sources,” the report adds.

Netanyahu further hailed that this signals the start of a “new and dramatic chapter” in the history of the Middle East. He called Assad a “central element of Iran’s axis of evil” but that Iran over-invested and everything collapsed.

Israeli media has further confirmed that after Israeli forces crossed the Golan area deeper into southern Syria, establishing a so-called security and buffer zone, IDF tanks are closer to the Syrian capital than ever before in history.

The Times of Israel details:

An Israeli military incursion into southern Syria has reached about 25 kilometers (16 miles) southwest of the capital Damascus, two regional security sources and one Syrian security source says.

The Syrian security source says Israeli troops reached Qatana, which is 10 kilometers (6 miles) into Syrian territory, east of a demilitarized zone separating the Golan Heights from Syria.

Despite the claims, the IDF has indicated that it only plans to operate on the ground inside the buffer zone, and not beyond it.

Some critics of the now ruling Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) have pointed out that this supposed “revolution” has resulted in a situation where Turkey is carving up the north and Israel is carving up the south, while the whole country is defenseless, without anti-air protection, against Israeli strikes.

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Muhammad al-Bashir Authorized to Form Interim Government in Syria

Mohammed al-Bashir, the head of the so-called “salvation government,” said on Tuesday that the Syrian opposition had authorized him to form an interim government in the country.

“By decision of the General Command, we have been authorized to form an interim government. This will be done tentatively by March 1, 2025,” al-Bashir told Al Hadath broadcaster.

The so-called “salvation government” was formed by opposition forces in Idlib since January 2024.

Syrian armed opposition groups captured Damascus on Sunday. Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali said that he and 18 other ministers had decided to remain in the capital. Jalali also said he was in contact with the leaders of militant groups that had entered the city. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Syrian President Bashar Assad had stepped down and left Syria after negotiations with some participants in the Syrian conflict.

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What we know about Mohammed al-Bashir, head of Syria’s interim government

On December 10, 2024, news emerged about the appointment of Mohammed al-Bashir as the head of Syria’s interim government. The decision was made at a joint meeting of the Council of Ministers, which previously reported to President Bashar Assad, and an alternative government formed by opposition groups in 2017. The interim government’s mandate is expected to last three months.

Mohammed al-Bashir was born into a Sunni family in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province in 1983. In 2007, he received a degree in technology from Aleppo University and, in 2021, earned a Sharia law degree from Idlib University. He also completed a course in administration and project management and worked at a plant belonging to the Syria Gas Company.

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Assad’s Downfall Proves Neocons Have Learned Nothing From Disastrous Middle East Meddling

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has fled his country, now under the protection of Vladimir Putin in Moscow. In only a few days, a regime that had withstood over a decade of brutal civil war crumbled into dust before the onslaught of a new rebel offensive.

Now, Syria teeters on the brink of tribal mayhem as disparate factions espousing differing strains of radical Islamism begin to squabble over the carcass and jostle for power. ISIS has even reemerged as part of the victorious rebel coalition, prompting U.S. airstrikes over the weekend.

But, on cue, the neocons crawled out of the woodwork to gloat, finding some solace in the bloodshed and mayhem after their recent electoral drubbing. In a little over 24 hours, they proved that they’ve learned nothing from over two decades of disastrous American meddling in the Middle East.

Unrepentant warmonger and Never Trumper Bill Kristol wasted no time waxing poetic on the carnage, posting on X, “The fall of Assad. On some days, one can believe that while the arc of the moral universe is long, it bends toward justice.” Perhaps the image of a toppled Assad statue reminded Kristol of when the same thing happened during the fall of Saddam Hussein in Iraq — back when people actually cared about what he had to say.

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Safe while Syria burns

More than 350 Israeli airstrikes targeting Syrian territory in the past hours, and an enemy Israeli occupation of Syrian territory equivalent to twice the size of the Gaza Strip, and their army is less than 40 km away from the capital Damascus.

After a rather turbulent 48 hours I am safe and will be writing and broadcasting as normal very shortly. I had one hour to pack one suitcase, take one dog and get through a border swarming with armed thugs looting and fighting amongst themselves over the spoils. The night before was spent besieged by armed groups firing in the air to celebrate their “victory” while Israel started using bunker buster bombs on Syrian military sites and air defence close to the house. The house shook from top to bottom. At 10am truckloads of armed thieves arrived and battered at my front gate. I was on the phone to a friend who begged me to find a weapon – clearly I don’t have any. I yelled at them from inside and the dogs went crazy. After three batterings they left.

Much more to recount over the coming days. Social media is a mess of lies, misinformation and downright hypocrisy. Thank you to everyone who emailed and messaged, it really lifted my spirits at an all time low.

I wrote this note this morning. I need a long time to process the loss for the whole world and for me as a human being who saw my future living in my beloved Syria.

Anyone who can explain why Assad’s pre-recorded farewell speech and possible explanation of the catastrophic events was not aired, as planned, after he left the country, please get in touch.

All the backstabbers who are now turning against Assad, protecting their interests – you were in a position to say something for 14 years. Why didn’t you?

I don’t blame any of the ordinary people for adopting the new era. People in Syria are isolated and afraid, some are terrified.

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In Syria, be careful what you wish for: Sharia law and new wave of refugees is more likely than ‘democracy’ following fall of Assad and U.S. meddling

Why, exactly, did Washington back Sunni rebels taking down Assad, and if Washington wants a Turkish-backed Sunni Muslim caliphate in Syria, should we as Christians cheer Washington getting its way?

All of those in the West celebrating the fall of the Assad regime in Syria had better be careful what they wish for.

I’ve heard some awfully dumb statements coming from conservative circles in recent days about the “stunning” nine-day collapse of Syria. It’s not so stunning when you learn that the American CIA had been planning the offensive for months with the full support of its NATO ally Turkey.

One prominent regular guest commentator on Fox News has come out and said both sides in the Syrian Civil War are made up of really bad guys, but that he was hoping the coalition of “rebels” which include the former El Nusra, al-Qaida and other Sunni Muslim terrorists would win. Why? Because they’re against Russia and Iran, whom he fears more.

But even that nonsense pales in comparison to some of the other chatter out there in conservative and even Christian circles, where I’m hearing it said that there is “hope” now for a democratically elected constitutional republic to emerge in Syria. Where is there another example of such a government — of, by and for the people — anywhere in the Middle East? I would actually go further and say I don’t see a government anywhere on Earth right now that reflects those vaunted principles.

Let’s face it: The U.S. didn’t support the rebels who overran Syria because they thought Assad was too brutal of a dictator. They supported them because it was yet another way to deal a black eye to Russia.

Instead of Russia and Iran running the show in Syria, now we face the very real possibility that Russia and Iran will be replaced with Turkey and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Syria’s new jihadist regime has reportedly already started rounding up the Christians.

But, however unjustified, the celebrations continue here in America in certain Christian and conservative circles. Yay, we beat Russia again! Score one for the good guys!

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