Musa Iqbal
The fall of Syria’s Ba’ath government in late 2024 was a rapid succession of events that followed a prolonged, strenuous thirteen-year war. The collapse of the Syrian security forces, the breakdown of the government and its infrastructural arms, and of course, the rapid takeover of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a rebranded Al Nusra front, with the simultaneous incursion of Israeli Occupation forces to the west of Damascus threw the country into immediate chaos of a new kind.
Full Speed to Normalization
The reshaping of the Syrian state commenced with breakneck speed. As if the following weeks after the Ba’ath government’s fall were planned months in advance, the new Syrian government – run by an assortment of rebel leaders from the so-called “Free Syrian Army” and other HTS allies – operated with swiftness amongst the chaos of a collapsed (rather, overthrown) state. Quick “reforms” were made to state apparatuses, school curriculum, laws, and the economy itself – the latter, which vowed to put the country on a path to privatization, opening itself up for Western investment, hinting at a full-throttle road to normalization. With the embrace of a privatized economy that would shatter state-owned industries, the New Syria’s refusal to confront the Zionist occupation – which continued to bombard it, as well as expand its offensive deeper into Syrian territory – proved to be the ultimate capitulation, surrender, and integration into the imperialist fold.
Ex-Al Qaeda-now-HTS leader Abu Mohammad al-Jolani would self-appoint himself as head of state. Leading up to the overthrow of the old government, Jolani was conducting CNN interviews. The military fatigues would be traded in for a suit. The speeches were prepped not just for his Syrian subjects – but for the Western world listening in, seeing who would be the leader of the New Syria after over a decade of imperialist-imposed chaos and bloodshed.
Soon, Jolani would meet with Western leaders. One by one, they would be invited to Damascus, or Jolani would cross paths with them on official visits. He received warm welcomes from Germany, the UK, Gulf Countries, not-so-covertly, and even the Israeli Occupation. The meeting of various state leaders would culminate in the shaking of hands with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Continuing the chain of events at breakneck speed, Trump, along with his European junior allies, would lift the sanctions that had been strangling the Syrian people for so long. It was clear that the HTS regime was not interested in carrying out any resistance operations against the Israeli regime as its predecessor had. The HTS regime made sure of this: not only did they refuse to militarily confront the newly lost Syrian land to Israel, despite constant aggression, but they began to expel, disarm, and arrest Palestinian resistance operating within Syria – something the Ba’ath government openly supported.
The warming of relations between the US and Syria should cause alarm even to someone not politically versed in the subject matter. For example, it would take the US almost seven years to establish ties with Egypt after the June 1967 Arab-Israeli War (Al-Naksa). Similarly, Sudan-American relations also deteriorated after the ’67 war and were re-established in ’72 (after which it would take two decades to break off again). Yet relations developed within weeks after the fall of the Ba’ath government between the new Syria and the instigator of its chaos – the United States.
The United States is the victor in Syria. The seeds of chaos planted long ago by US intelligence agencies had borne its rotten fruit. The CIA operation Timber Sycamore allowed the US to send arms to and train HTS, as well as adjacent groups. For years, particularly at the onset of the breakout of war, intelligence officials coordinated with these groups, infamously labelling them as “moderate rebels” – to destabilize Syria and the Ba’ath government.
HTS simply survived and played the long game. Backed by US, Turkish, and Israeli intelligence and arms, while also funded by an endless stream of Gulf money, HTS was a long-term investment in overthrowing a sovereign Syria. The breakneck speed at which they are “integrated” into the fold of global imperialism is not so much an “integration” as it is a purification ritual. After over a decade of HTS’s signature sectarian violence, which included beheadings, rape, child abduction, summary execution, and more – it was time to move quickly to sell the world the new Syria – the Syria that was devised under the Bush doctrine.
Formal Integration into the Imperialist Fold
On July 7th, US President Donald Trump lifted the terrorist designation of the Al-Nusra Front, now known as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham. HTS’ participation in the Syrian war, as mentioned, was ruthless – certainly not what so-called Western democracies would champion (despite covert operations showing Western armies – particularly the US – committing the same atrocities).
Throughout the war, the US designated HTS as a terrorist organization to satisfy its projected image as a liberal democracy under international norms. Now, there is no need for such formalities. HTS succeeded in the overthrow of the Syrian state, and more importantly, its leadership is more than willing to fulfil its end of the bargain after taking American money and training – it was willing to normalize relations with the Israeli regime, imminently cementing another state within the so-called Abraham Accords. Never mind the ongoing violence against minorities: kidnappings, summary executions, and even suicide bombings of churches.
Jolani and crew, now armed with a new national identity, and free of Western economic restrictions, have an important role to play to formalize their integration within global imperialism: crippling the Resistance Axis, particularly of Hezbollah to the West and Iraqi militias to the East.
Ongoing discussions between the new Syrian regime and the Israeli regime indicate that the HTS security state will play a role in the attempted strangulation of Hezbollah. Syria, previously a pathway for arms to enter southern Lebanon, has now been cut off from the Resistance Axis. However, weapons smuggling is not the main problem for the resistance regarding issues from the Syrian HTS regime (and after all, resistance factions are trained to withstand being cut off from external weapons supplies or navigate through them).
The key issue is the HTS regime’s willingness – and anticipation – to attack Hezbollah and Lebanon itself directly. Test runs of this scenario were already run early in 2025. Border skirmishes between the HTS security apparatus and Lebanese villagers (though the latter may not be associated with Hezbollah) are now a new reality – and something likely being discussed in backdoor negotiations between Syria and the Israeli occupation.
With the terrorist designation dropped for HTS, the US can now openly declare its willingness to arm them, as it mounts political pressure on the Lebanese state to disarm Hezbollah – a motion that the latter outright rejects. Instead of getting directly involved, or even having the Israelis act, the US can now utilize the HTS regime to conduct proxy warfare against resistance targets on its behalf. The sectarian nature of the HTS regime furthermore makes them a natural enemy of most of the Resistance Axis, as most of the Resistance Axis participants are anti-imperialist Shia states/organizations.
Consider an instance of Israeli incursion into Lebanon. Where once, using Syrian land only consisted of the occupied Golan (which Jolani has capitulated in exchange for the end to hostilities), a normalization deal would mean allowing more Syrian land and airspace beyond the Golan to conduct strikes against Hezbollah and the Lebanese people. Under the Ba’ath government, this was unthinkable at best or met with Syrian resistance under the worst circumstances.
As prioritized Washington policy is the toppling of Hezbollah, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and its allies, and the terror designation against HTS has been dropped, the covert Operation Timber Sycamore (officially discontinued) can be conducted overtly. HTS’s orientation is in line with Washington’s, and Syria’s location allows them to make the push against both Hezbollah and Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces. HTS, once a mercenary army, serves the same purpose, but now with the benefit of being a “state actor.”
Furthermore, the Israeli regime can now employ HTS as another layer of security against resistance attacks. Similar to how Jordan intercepts missiles and drones coming from Iran, Syrian skies have now become open to Israeli aggression conducted on Iran (and other targets) while being closed to Iranian missiles and drones. Syria will follow in the footsteps of Jordan, Qatar, and other Gulf Countries, and now allow the US to likely establish its once “limited” base of operations to become permanent.
It does not matter that the HTS was once a part of Al Qaeda – the group credited with the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The HTS’ whitewashing has allowed them to become a critical component of imperialism within the West-Asian region. At a time when the Israeli occupation has suffered near-mortal blows, HTS offers a defensive shield and a possible lifeline.
Even more concerning is the makeup of HTS itself. Dubbed “foreign fighters” for years before its whitewashing campaign, HTS is composed of thousands of sectarian fighters from all over the globe – including Chinese Uyghurs, Turks, Jordanians, Afghans, and more. This model enables HTS to maintain a consistent stream of fighters from wherever Salafist doctrine is promoted, thereby replenishing its ranks.
The rapid integration of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) into the imperialist order following the fall of Syria’s Ba’ath government in 2024 marks an unfortunate shift in the region’s geopolitical landscape. Through calculated moves devised years in advance – spearheaded by HTS leader Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, and further backed by Western and Gulf powers – Syria has been reshaped into a compliant state, abandoning its historical resistance to imperialism and Zionism.
The cost of this integration – marked by ongoing violence against minorities and the betrayal of anti-imperialist principles – signals a troubling future for Syria and the broader region, as it becomes a pawn in the US-led campaign to dismantle resistance movements and secure hegemonic control. The Resistance Axis can navigate through this catastrophe, but it will undoubtedly pose a daunting task.
Musa Iqbal is the Political Director and Editor at Vox Ummah.
