December 11, 20:13

The Orderly and Rapid Fall of the Assad Regime: Why and What Comes Next
Rapid military developments in Syria, without resistance from the Syrian army, led to the fall of President Bashar al-Assad and his unopposed departure from Damascus. This transition was the result of high-level negotiations between key players, including Turkey, Russia and Iran. However, the surprises in the Middle East are far from over; they are only just beginning with this transition of power and the attempt to create a new state with very different standards.
One of the key reasons for the rapid fall of the Assad regime was the strategy employed by the advancing forces in the towns and villages they captured, especially in the countryside of Idlib, Aleppo and its surroundings (apart from isolated extremist actions), but also in Hama, Homs, Damascus and southern Syria.
The attackers deliberately distanced themselves from the brutal tactics that had united the world against the forces fighting the Syrian army since 2011.
This shift in approach allowed the regime to collapse like a snowball rolling down a mountain, with minimal resistance as one city after another surrendered. The orderly surrender occurred without significant bloodshed after protracted negotiations led by the main mediators: Turkey, Iran, and Russia.
Russia and Iran lost a staunch ally and a strong base in the Middle East, leaving Turkey as the dominant power. Istanbul provided military support to the advancing forces, coordinated their operations, and carefully directed their actions through a joint operations room. Under Turkish leadership, these forces achieved all of their objectives in areas previously controlled by the Syrian army. However, they did not extend their success to areas controlled by U.S.-backed Kurdish forces in the northeast, where power extended to Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa.
Syria remains deeply divided, with the northeast under Kurdish control, Israel expanding its occupation of new Syrian territory in the south, and no unified factions that could form a cohesive ruling authority. Instead, Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi al-Jallali has been appointed to lead an interim administration running the country. What events have brought Syria to this point, and what does the future hold?
As head of the interim administration, Prime Minister al-Jallali will likely be responsible for the day-to-day functions of the state while preparing it for a longer-term transition. This includes maintaining basic governance, preventing a complete collapse of institutions, and overseeing negotiations to achieve a more permanent political settlement. Al-Jallali will have to navigate deep divisions as he works with opposition groups, external actors, and the remnants of the Assad-era bureaucracy. His ability to manage these relationships will determine whether Syria can move toward stability. His appointment signals to the international community that Syria is attempting to rebuild itself within a framework that combines continuity and change. However, it also raises questions about whether genuine reform is possible with a figure associated with the previous regime. Al-Jallali’s leadership during the transition will set the tone for Syria’s transition. Whether he can maintain stability and steer the country toward a new political structure will depend on his ability to build consensus among internal and external actors.
His tenure will likely determine whether Syria moves toward unity or remains divided and uncertain.
Many factions in Syria have united under the leadership of the Repel Aggression Coalition, forming a single alliance that includes groups such as Jaysh al-Izza, Jaysh al-Ahrar, Faylaq al-Sham, Al-Quwat al-Mushtaraka, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zinki, the Sultan Murad Brigade, Ansar al-Tawhid, Suqour al-Sham, Ahrar al-Sham, the Sulayman Shah Brigade, the Al-Hamza Division, and the Turkistan Islamic Party Brigades. Among them, Ahrar al-Sham and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham stand out as the largest and most influential.
A call has been announced for a “National Transitional Council” (NTC) to unite all elements of the revolution. This comes after Abu Muhammad al-Julani said that existing institutions would remain under the current prime minister in order to maintain stability following the unexpectedly rapid collapse of the Syrian government’s control over major cities.
However, the path forward remains uncertain. It is not yet clear how the state will be governed in the coming weeks or who will lead the effort to draft a new constitution and prepare for parliamentary elections. The main challenge will be creating a coherent governance structure and reconciling the diverse and often conflicting ideologies of the combined factions.
As these factions, with their different backgrounds and agendas, try to forge a unified vision for Syria’s future, questions remain about who will wield ultimate authority and how they will navigate the complexities of building a functioning state.
The success of this fragile alliance will likely determine whether Syria can move toward stability or remain divided and uncertain.
The creation of the National Transitional Council highlights the enormous challenges of uniting disparate factions into a coherent governing structure. While the Repel Aggression coalition suggests a temporary convergence of interests, the long-term sustainability of such an alliance remains questionable.
Factions within the NTC span a wide range of ideologies. Groups such as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and Ansar al-Tawhid advocate sharia-based governance of Syria. Their extremist vision risks alienating moderate factions and potential international supporters. Large groups such as HTS and Ahrar al-Sham may claim disproportionate influence, risking the marginalization of smaller factions and internal disunity. At the same time, Ahrar al-Sham and Faylaq al-Sham combine Islamic principles with nationalist aspirations, seeking a pluralistic model of governance that includes diverse Syrian groups.
On the other hand, factions such as the Sultan Murad Brigade and the Turkistan Islamic Party Brigades include foreign fighters and minorities, and they pursue unique goals, complicating the prospect of national unity. Smaller factions often support democratic or technocratic governance, which can conflict with the dominant Islamist forces in the coalition. These differences highlight the difficulty of creating a common vision of governance and policy.
Israel has formally abandoned the 1974 disengagement agreement with Syria, declaring its intention to renegotiate the dynamics on the border. In a bold move, Israel captured Mount Hermon and several villages in Quneitra, declaring Syria an open battlefield and signaling its intention to advance further into Syrian territory with blatant disregard for international norms. The Israeli Air Force conducted a sustained campaign, systematically attacking and destroying more than 100 strategic targets, including Syrian air defense systems, ammunition depots in Damascus, and key installations at several airports across the country, further weakening Syria’s already depleted defenses.
On the other hand, Russian forces, deployed on the Syrian-Israeli border primarily for stabilization following the Syrian civil war, acted as a buffer between Israeli and Syrian forces, preventing escalation. They were stationed primarily in the Quneitra and Golan Heights areas and served as intermediaries, restraining both sides from aggressive actions that could lead to a wider conflict. However, their presence was also a symbol of Russia’s influence in the region and its role as a security guarantor for the Assad regime.
Recent events have forced Moscow to abandon these positions due to the security risks to its soldiers, creating a vacuum that has allowed Israel to expand its operations and consolidate its control in southern Syria.
No international power has stepped up to defend Syrian sovereignty or oppose Israel’s annexation of additional Syrian territory. For Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the occupation of parts of Syria represents a major achievement in Israel’s strategic ambitions. Not only does the move strengthen his political position at home, it also reinforces Israel’s territorial and military dominance at a key moment in the evolution of the Middle East’s geopolitical situation.
Moscow, which has provided refuge to Bashar al-Assad and his family, has announced that it remains in touch with all parties involved in Syria, maintaining a pragmatic approach toward the new authorities. However, uncertainty hangs over Russia’s strategic presence in the region. The possible loss of the Khmeimim and Tartus military bases would be a significant loss, as these facilities provide the only access to the warm waters of the Mediterranean, a critical geopolitical asset for projecting influence in the region.
Since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2012, Turkey under Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has taken a firm stance against President Bashar al-Assad. Erdogan has repeatedly stated that his goal is to visit Damascus and pray at the Umayyad Mosque. Today, with the fall of Assad, this goal seems achievable, cementing Turkey’s status as the “godfather” of the new Syrian leadership.
Turkey has long-term goals in Syria: securing its borders, countering Kurdish autonomy, and strengthening its influence in northern Syria. To this end, Ankara has used military action, economic integration, and support for opposition groups and jihadists. However, achieving these goals depends on Turkey’s ability to balance domestic political objectives, regional rivalries, and international interests.
Turkey has established zones of influence in regions such as Afrin, Jarablus, and al-Bab, where it exerts significant administrative, economic, and military influence. Turkish currency and goods dominate local markets, and the establishment of schools and cultural institutions has helped spread the Turkish language and culture.
These actions also help Turkey address its domestic challenges. It hosts more than 3.5 million Syrian refugees, and anti-refugee sentiment has become a significant political issue. By creating “safe zones” in northern Syria, Ankara aims to repatriate significant numbers of refugees, reducing domestic tensions and demonstrating its role as a stabilizing force in the region. However, such ambitions have drawn opposition from Russia and Iran, especially in light of Turkey’s resettlement of opposition-supporting Syrians in areas cleared of Kurdish forces. This process of demographic engineering is aimed at weakening Kurdish influence and strengthening Turkey’s position.
Turkey’s military campaigns and support for offensive forces are also aimed at undermining U.S.-backed Kurdish militias in northeastern Syria. Although the United States relies on Kurdish militias such as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to fight ISIS, Ankara views the alliance as a threat to its security. Turkey’s operations demonstrate to Washington that it will not tolerate a prolonged Kurdish presence on its borders, even if it means disrupting American plans to stabilize the region.
Despite the fall of the Assad regime, the fighting in Syria is far from over. Fighting continues in northeastern Aleppo between Turkish-backed forces and U.S.-backed Kurdish militias. Turkey views these Kurdish forces not as Syrian militias but as affiliates of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is designated a terrorist organization in Turkey and internationally. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan recently underscored this position, saying that these forces are “foreign fighters who have gathered in Syria and they must all be eliminated.” The Kurdish forces remain determined to defend their autonomy and continue to receive U.S. support, creating a protracted conflict that limits Ankara’s ability to achieve its goals.
The United States, however, takes a different stance. While Washington also considers Ahmed al-Shaar (Abu Muhammad al-Julani), the leader of the task force, a terrorist, it continues to support Kurdish groups, including militias linked to the PKK, which it also officially recognizes as terrorist organizations. Yet these same Kurdish forces play a key role in protecting the American presence in Syria. U.S. forces also provide them with air cover and prevent attacks on them, creating a paradoxical dynamic. The U.S. will only recognize new leaders in Syria if there is a smooth transition.
In recent days, Kurdish forces have advanced and taken control of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa, adding these territories to the already-held regions of Hasakah and Qamishli, which are critical to Syria’s economy and resources. The new Syrian leadership is unlikely to accept this development, as it exacerbates tensions in the northeastern region, which contains the country’s grain basket as well as oil and gas resources. This Kurdish control presents an ongoing dilemma and raises the question of federalization, especially given the different identities of the Kurds, Alawites, and Druze in Syria.
However, Turkey’s staunch opposition to Kurdish autonomy will make the creation of a Kurdish state similar to Iraqi Kurdistan much more difficult. Ankara is unlikely to tolerate even the hint of a Kurdish enclave in northeastern Syria, ensuring that the issue remains a contentious and unresolved point in the country’s fragmented landscape.
There is no doubt that Syria’s exit from the Islamic Republic of Iran’s sphere of influence represents a major change for Tehran. Since the war began in 2011, Iran has invested tens of billions of dollars in support of President Bashar al-Assad, especially under years of harsh Western sanctions against Syria. These financial and military commitments have come at a high cost: Iran has lost thousands of officers and fighters in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its allies, including Hezbollah, over the years of war. These losses began with the rise of ISIS in Syria and continued even after its defeat.
Iran has also built up vast weapons depots across Syria, which remain prime targets for Israeli airstrikes even after the fall of the Assad regime. Iran has also committed to sending one or two tankers of oil every month to meet Syria’s energy needs, demonstrating its strong support during the conflict. However,
former President Bashar al-Assad consistently refused to allow Hezbollah to engage in military action against Israel from Syria or to launch missiles at Israeli targets. The stance was a calculated move aimed at distancing Syria from the current conflict with Israel, signaling that Syria is not an active participant in the feud and attempting to remain neutral amid escalating regional tensions.
The most serious loss for Iran is the loss of Hezbollah’s main weapons supply route, a critical supply line for the Lebanese resistance in its fight against Israel. This severed corridor, the cornerstone of Iranian military support for Hezbollah, threatens to have serious strategic consequences if not repaired. It will likely force Iranian leaders to rethink their broader strategies and adjust their policies in the Middle East, especially given the growing pressure on Iran’s regional influence.
In Lebanon, Hezbollah has also suffered significant losses, although it remains far from defeated. Despite the intensity of Israeli strikes, the group has managed to maintain its core operational strength, including thousands of infantry and elite special forces units, which remain largely unscathed. However, the deterioration of the logistical supply chain and the changing regional landscape will require a measured and strategic response from Tehran. These growing challenges underscore the need for Iran to rethink its regional priorities and adapt to a rapidly changing geopolitical environment.
The Fall of Syria: A New Middle East
Israel’s recent advance into Quneitra, aimed at creating a buffer zone to secure the occupied Golan Heights and capturing additional Syrian territory, sends a clear message: there will be no return of occupied Syrian territory. Moreover, Israel’s willingness to withdraw from Lebanon has likely diminished, and its interpretation of ceasefire agreements is becoming increasingly flexible. This is especially true if the Lebanese resistance movement finds itself under siege and its financial and military resources are severely compromised for an extended period.
Syria’s collapse has profound implications for the region – implications that have yet to be fully revealed. It marks the beginning of a new Middle East, but not the one envisioned by former US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, who coined the term during the 2006 Lebanon War. Nor does it fit the vision of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who sought to destroy Hezbollah and expand his influence into Syria and Iraq in order to redraw the regional map. Instead, we see an undescribed Middle East whose contours and dynamics remain unpredictable. Lebanon, for its part, lost an important round against Israel, but not the war. The future remains uncertain, and the region faces questions about who will rule Syria and how its fall will change the region, especially in terms of its impact on Lebanon.
The region is at a critical juncture, with its trajectory determined by the shifting interplay of forces, alliances, and resistance. The fall of Syria is likely to reverberate far beyond its borders, setting the tone for a Middle East whose final shape is still unclear.
(c) Elijah J. Magnier
https://ejmagnier.com/2024/12/08/the-or ... omes-next/ - original in English
https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/9546093.html
Syria. The last 75 years
December 11, 18:03

In Syria over the past 75 years, not counting external wars:
1949 – three military coups, the supreme power changes as many as three times in one year
1951 – military coup
1954 – general rebellion and coup
1961 – military coup
1962 – as many as two military coups in one year
1963 – military coup, the Baath Party comes to power (one of the leaders is Assad Sr.)
1966 – military coup, where Assad Sr. is one of the main participants
1968-69 – riots in the main cities of the country, suppressed by the army
1970 – military coup, Assad Sr. comes to power
1976-82 – civil war between the Assad government and the Islamists. Mass killings in Aleppo. The city of Hama, mentioned more than once in December 2024, was completely destroyed during the fighting in 1982...
1984 - President Assad's younger brother unsuccessfully tries to overthrow his brother and seize power.
Since 1985, 20 years of relative stability begin under the harsh dictatorship of the Assad clan
2000 - Assad Sr. dies, power passes to his son
2005 - Vice President Khaddam, a close associate of his late father, unsuccessfully attempts to overthrow Assad Jr.
Since 2011 - as we all know, an ongoing war.
So 2024 and even 2025 will not be the last years of the eternal Syrian turmoil...
P.S. And what beauty was happening there throughout the 19th century!.. Emperor Nicholas I first thought about introducing Russian troops into Syria in 1840, when the "Egyptians" and "Turks" were once again fighting for Damascus and Aleppo during the civil strife within the Ottoman Empire.
Russian military intelligence began systematic work on the lands of modern Syria while Pushkin was still alive...
For five years, from 1834 to 1839, Russian officers worked continuously in Palestine and Syria. The first to survey the region for the possibility of military operations was Colonel of the General Staff Alexander Duhamel, who was listed as consul in Egypt. Then Lieutenant Colonel Pyotr Lvov worked in Syria. This native of the Tver province, a veteran of wars with the Turks and Polish rebels, compiled the first military map and topographic description of Syria in the style: "... here a road cut into the rock winds, and Beilan in a military sense would deserve special note."
Beilan is now the Turkish Belan in Hatay, where there are still more Arabs than Turks, and the line of the Syrian-Turkish border was recognized by Damascus only in 2011 and almost immediately "unrecognized" after Erdogan supported the internal Syrian rebellion.
But let's go back to the 19th century.
Emperor Nicholas I personally familiarized himself with the map of Syria and other documents of Lieutenant Colonel Lvov, leaving his own notes on them. As a result of this acquaintance, the lieutenant colonel became a colonel and received a lifelong pension of 2,000 rubles per year.
Following Pyotr Lvov in Syria and Palestine in 1838-39, Captain of the Life Guards Pavlovsky Regiment Joseph Dainese, assistant to the quartermaster general of the Active Army, worked. This Italian, who transferred to Russian service, compiled a "military survey map" and a detailed "Memoire sur la Syrie en 1838" (written in French, "Report on Syria in 1838").
Based on the results of the activities of Duhamel, Lvov and Dainese in St. Petersburg, the Department of the General Staff of the Ministry of War in 1840 compiled the following summary: "The conquest of Syria, given the disposition of the inhabitants to the advancing army, becomes possible along the path of action from Anatolia during one 7- or 8-month campaign, but given the hostility of the steppe and mountain tribes, offensive actions, even from Anatolia, will be extremely difficult, will require a strong army and can be successful only with the slowest course of the war, special caution and inevitable sacrifices."
https://t.me/alter_vij/3365 - zinc
PS. Find Bashar al-Assad in the picture, who has recently become a Muscovite. Perhaps he will vote for Sobyanin in the elections.
https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/9545750.html
Google Translator
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‘Israeli’ Tanks Reach Damascus Countryside Amid Terrorist Takeover of Syria
December 11, 2024

Israeli occupation armored forces take position outside the occupied village of Majdal Shams near the buffer zone that separates the occupied Golan Heights from the rest of Syria, December 9, 2024. Photo: AFP.
“Israel” has continued to expand its occupation in Syria without facing any resistance. Israeli tanks are now reportedly around 20 kilometers from the capital, Damascus, while the Zionist entity is simultaneously waging a massive bombing campaign across the country.
Israeli tanks reached the city of Qatana in the southern Damascus countryside, about 20 km away from the Syrian capital, on Tuesday, December 10.
The Israeli occupation took over the entirety of the Golan, including the Syrian side of Mount Hermon. It led a further eastward advance, taking over the UN-monitored buffer zone in the same area. The prime minister of the occupation entity, Benjamin Netanyahu, declared earlier that the Golan “will be Israeli for eternity.”
Israeli forces are also occupying several towns and villages, including Aarna, Baqa’sm, al-Reemeh, Hinah, Qal’a, Jandal, al-Husseiniyah, Jita, and al-Khashab in the southern Damascus countryside.
Meanwhile, the Zionist entity carried out destructive airstrikes on Tuesday night, hitting Syrian army facilities in Aleppo, Damascus, and the western port city of Latakia.
“The Israeli Navy carried out a large-scale operation last night to destroy the Syrian army fleet, where several ships belonging to the Syrian naval fleet were destroyed, which were carrying dozens of naval missiles, in the area of the Bayda port and the Latakia port,” Israeli Army Radio reported on December 10.
The city of Salamiyah, in the eastern countryside of Hama, also came under Israeli strikes of Tuesday.
Warplanes also targeted the Shayrat airbase in the Homs countryside as well as military installations in the northern region of the Raqqa governorate.
Israeli media outlets claim that the Israeli Air Force draws closer to destroying the entirety of the Syrian Air Force.
Some 300 Israeli airstrikes have targeted Syria since the overthrow of the government of former President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday, December 8, by Turkish and US-backed terrorist groups.
Meanwhile, violence and instability prevails across the country.
According to reports on December 10, Syrian chemist Dr Hamdi Ismail was found killed in his home.
Several executions of Syrian army soldiers have been reported since the Assad government fell.
The terrorist organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) that led the assault on Syrian territory since late November has not said a word about the Israeli occupation of southern Syria and the relentless attacks across the country.
HTS, formerly known as al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria, the al-Nusra Front, has been implicated in numerous atrocities, including kidnapping, public executions, indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas, and other war crimes over the years. HTS is recognized as a terrorist organization by the United Nations and is banned in several countries.
On December 9, the terrorist organization appointed Mohammad al-Bashir as the prime minister of the “interim government” of Syria.
Al-Bashir was the “prime minister” of the HTS-led “Salvation Government,” which was formed in 2017 and ruled Syria’s northern province of Idlib, where HTS was based and operated for years, before toppling the Syrian government last Sunday.
https://orinocotribune.com/israeli-tank ... -of-syria/
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War Propaganda and the Fall of Syria
Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist 11 Dec 2024

2018 meme debunking accusations of chemical weapons use by Syria. Image: @angelojohngage
A succession of U.S. presidents have been committed to regime change in Syria. That long-held goal has been achieved in part through a sustained campaign of war propaganda.
“AQ [Al Qaeda] is on our side in Syria.”
Senior Policy Adviser Jake Sullivan's 2012 email to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
The rapid fall of the Syrian Arab Republic government was both a shock and a catastrophe for that region and for the world. It was incomprehensible that the state which withstood a sustained attack since 2011 from the United States, Israel, Turkey and other NATO members, and gulf monarch states such as Saudi Arabia, would collapse so swiftly. The defeat was political, not military. There was surprisingly little actual fighting on the battlefield.
Russia, Syria’s most powerful ally, is engaged in Ukraine, while Turkey, Syria’s nemesis, played a two-sided game of working with its NATO allies while claiming to be negotiating in good faith with Russia. Surely more details are still to come, but treachery and a U.S. commitment to pursuing hegemony won the day and the Axis of Resistance now represented only by Iran, has been dealt a huge blow. The project for a Greater Israel is a reality and the Israeli Defense Forces have destroyed Syria’s air force and navy as Syrian Arab Army soldiers have fled rather than risk capture by the jihadists who have now overrun that country.
Syria was the victim of a U.S. regime change plot that began in 2011 and it was carried out by successive administrations with the help of collusion with the media. The U.S. had buy-in for whatever acts it wanted to carry out against Syria because of a sustained war propaganda effort. That effort continued until the last moment before the government fell.
After the Barack Obama administration succeeded in destroying the state of Libya and killing its president with the help of jihadist proxies, it turned its attention to Syria in an attempt to replicate that plot. The corporate media assisted with a drumbeat of condemnation against Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. The country, with a long history of supporting dictators and tyrants, declared that Assad was a murderer, a dictator, and a butcher. Their propaganda output included newly created terms such as “barrel bombs” and a new epithet against anyone who spoke against their regime change project, who were labeled as “Assadists.”
Every tool of war propaganda was put to use, including claims that Assad was using chemical weapons against his people. In a futile effort to end such charges, in 2013, the Russian government assisted the Syrians in destroying their chemical weapons stockpiles , but to no avail. The charges continued without any evidence. Syria was even accused of using chemical weapons on the very day that United Nations inspectors arrived in 2013.
The chemical weapons charge was used over and over again and each time the version of events strained credulity. In 2018 the U.S., France, and the U.K. declared they would take military action against Syria if there were any chemical weapons attacks. Like clockwork, on April 7 of that year, 40 civilians were killed in the city of Douma and it was reported that the Syrian government had dropped chemical weapons on the building where the killings took place. But one inspector from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) cast doubt on that version of events. A leaked document stated, “…there is a higher probability that both cylinders were manually placed at both locations rather than being delivered by aircraft.” The whistleblower disappeared from corporate media accounts, while the likelier explanation that civilians were kidnapped and killed by U.S. proxies, was sent down the memory hole.
Consider the odd timeline of events that year. On March 4, a former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter were poisoned by a chemical agent in Britain. The British government blames Russia, which has no reason to harm a former spy they swapped eight years prior. Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, arrived in London for an official visit on March 7. On March 12, French president Emmanuel Macron stated that France would attack Syria if any chemical weapons are used there. The next day the Russian military claims to have evidence that a chemical attack will be carried out against Syrian civilians as a pretext for war. On March 16 France warned French journalists to leave Syria. Mohammed bin Salman traveled to Washington on March 19. On April 8 the prince known as MBS went to Paris for yet another official visit. On that day Saudi funded jihadist groups and the White Helmets, who were created by a British intelligence officer, reported that a chemical weapons attack occurred in the city of Douma. On April 14, the United States, France and Britain joined in a missile strike against Syria.
Just as they had done since 2011, the U.S. media played an important part in supporting U.S. foreign policy as the final blows were being planned. CNN disingenuously reported, “How Syria’s rebel leader went from radical jihadist to a blazer-wearing ‘revolutionary.’ “ Abu Mohammed al-Jolani is no longer called a “radical jihadist” leader of Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS) because CNN and the rest of western media orchestrated the transformation. They didn’t interview al-Jolani in years past, but he and his handlers have now been coached in how the game is played. “I believe that everyone in life goes through phases and experiences…As you grow, you learn, and you continue to learn until the very last day of your life.” It is easy to grow and learn with the help of media image makers. CNN was not alone in offering a helping hand while behaving as an innocent bystander. The British Broadcasting Corporation was also part of the charade with what was essentially the same headline used by CNN. “From Syrian jihadist leader to rebel politician: How Abu Mohammed al-Jolani reinvented himself.” Reinvention is easy when corporate media offer a helping hand.
Al-Jolani was once wanted by the U.S. In 2017, the State Department announced a reward of up to $10 million for his capture. “We remain committed to bringing leading AQS figures in HTS to justice.” That announcement from the first Donald Trump administration was also phony. Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her successor John Kerry knew quite well that their proxies were members of ISIS and Al Qaeda offshoots.
The use of jihadists as proxies has a long and ignoble history. In 1993, the British newspaper The Independent interviewed Osama bin Laden, hailing him as an “Anti-Soviet warrior” who used his armies for peaceful purposes. The man who less than ten years later would mastermind the attacks of September 11, 2001, and become a hated villain, had, in fact, been a western ally fighting the Soviet Union in Afghanistan beginning in the days of the Jimmy Carter administration.
After many fits and starts, the coup de grace has been delivered. The Syrian people who either lived through war or who were forced to become refugees around the world are now ruled by numerous groups of warring jihadists. The U.S. has won a decisive victory and Israel immediately enlarged its occupation of Syria.
Before the details of this change of events are known, it is important to point out what is already known. The west and their agents in the Western Asia region have schemed to take over Syria for many years, and they utilized war propaganda as one of their weapons. They will continue to do so as they work to consolidate their malicious but successful handiwork.
https://blackagendareport.com/war-propa ... fall-syria