Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) is a jihadist organization that took power in Damascus following the fall of the Assad government in December 2024. Formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra, it was designated as a terrorist organization by the United States. Its rise to power is part of the broader Western foreign policy architecture discussed in the text, which has historically supported opposition groups in Syria despite their extremist affiliations.
HTS, led by Ahmed al-Sharaa (formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani), emerged as a dominant force in the Syrian conflict after years of Western and Gulf support for various opposition factions. Al-Sharaa was a designated member of Al-Qaeda until 2017, with a $10 million bounty on his head. Despite this, HTS received significant backing from Western and Gulf actors, who viewed it as a viable alternative to the Assad regime. This support included logistical assistance, funding, and even medical care for HTS fighters in Israeli hospitals.
The acceptance of HTS by Western powers highlights the contradictions in the architecture of Western foreign policy, which prioritized geopolitical interests over democratic or human rights considerations. The new Syrian government under HTS has shifted Syria’s alignment toward Iran and Russia, aligning with the broader strategic goals of the Western architecture. This shift demonstrates that the primary concern of the Western foreign policy framework was not democracy or human rights, but rather the realignment of Syria’s political and military alliances.
HTS’s rise to power is a direct consequence of the sustained Western and Gulf intervention in Syria, which prevented a political settlement and instead prolonged the conflict. The organization’s control over Damascus marks a significant turning point in the Syrian conflict and underscores the complex interplay of regional and global interests in the Middle East.
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See Also
syria.md, assad.md, iran.md, russia.md, proxy-war.md, constructed-catastrophe.md