From resistance bulwark to vassal state: How Jolani sold Syria to the Empire
By Musa Iqbal
A long-standing plot by US imperialism has finally come to fruition, resulting in the sale of Syria the world once knew and initiating its transformation into yet another American vassal state.
Syria’s new self-proclaimed ‘president’ and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militant leader, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, met with US President Donald Trump during the latter’s visit to Saudi Arabia earlier this week. The meeting was facilitated by Mohammad bin Salman (MBS).
Since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad government in December 2024, Jolani and the HTS regime have prioritized normalization with the United States and Israel, holding not-so-secret talks with both entities, despite them occupying Syrian land and committing ongoing aggression against Syria.
Trump was eager to meet the man designated as a “terrorist” by his own country and whitewash his criminal history on a global stage.
The meeting took place in Riyadh, attended also by the Saudi crown prince. After the meeting, Trump described the designated terrorist as an “attractive man,” raising many eyebrows.
Setting the stage for normalization
Leading up to the meeting, Jolani passed and enforced policies that divorce Syria’s historical role within the resistance axis, which it no longer considers itself a part of.
The HTS regime has cracked down on Palestinian resistance members in Syria in recent months, arresting them and dismantling their operations.
It has also cut, re-evaluated, or cold-shouldered ties with resistance groups, sending a signal to Washington that this is not the same Syria that once stood tall against the Zionist occupation.
HTS officials even reportedly visited the Zionist entity and initiated “normalization” dialogue with them through the UAE in efforts to pursue normalization.
The message is crystal clear: The HTS regime in Syria has completely forsaken Syria’s historic role in the resistance axis for a pathway to normalization and integration within the Western imperialist and Zionist framework.
Jolani has specifically called not only for an end to hostilities with the child-murdering Israeli regime (hostilities which existed between Ba’ath Syria and Israel, Al Qaeda/HTS has never sought any confrontation with Israel) but has called for full normalization.
This was perhaps the final step needed for Washington to agree to end all sanctions on Syria – sanctions that starved Syrians for decades while they still had their own sovereignty.
“Now it is their time to shine. We are taking them (the sanctions) all off. Good luck Syria. Show us something very special,” Trump declared in Riyadh.
Jolani’s HTS regime is notorious for its execution style killings of Syrian minorities. It has refused to defend Syrian sovereignty and territorial integrity against an encroaching Israeli regime, which they do not view as an enemy but rather a potential ally, despite relentless Israeli aggression since the fall of the Assad government.
By Trump’s standards, this violent aggression against Syria’s own people is indeed something “very special.”
In exchange for sanctions relief, Syria will be open to American privatization and exploitation. A state that Assad once called socialist in policy will not be deregulated for American capitalists to hyper-exploit.
Syria will be rebuilt not for Syrians, but for imperialists. And a key component of imperialist policy is of course, bending the knee to American-Israeli interests.
This will likely include the destruction of state assets and initiatives, becoming privatized by the West, and, more importantly, using Syria as a staging ground for further aggression against the resistance axis.
Imperialist precedents
HTS, an offshoot of the Al-Qaeda terrorist group, has been largely responsible for the imposed war against the previous Syrian government since at least 2011.
Along with the Daesh terrorist group, they worked hand in hand with US officials to destabilize Syria, and with the help of the Turkish military, forcing Assad from power in December of 2024.
The arming of these terrorist groups is the rotten fruit of CIA operation Timber Sycamore – even current Trump admin officials admit this key fact. Obama signed off on it, and Trump continued it.
It should not be shocking that Trump has lifted sanctions on Syria and is willing to pursue collaboration with the HTS regime. In fact, this policy is not even a Trump policy – this is a bipartisan imperialist policy that began when the war started.
One must recall the infamous email sent by then-State Department official Jake Sullivan to Hillary Clinton in 2012, specifically stating “AQ [Al Qaeda] is on our side in Syria.”
For nearly 25 years, Americans were told Al Qaeda is the worst of the worst. Now their own president is shaking hands with a former Al Qaeda leader and praising him as “attractive” and “smart.”
Americans must wrestle with the fact that the same group that the US government stated conducted the September 11th attacks is now being absolved on the world stage for allowing the domination by Western capitalists of a war-torn Syria.
Trump joins a cast of Western leaders to recognize Jolani as the head of Syria, despite his refusal to hold elections. Leaders such as French President Macron, German Foreign Minister Baerbock, and soon, UK PM Keir Starmer, are all eager to accept Jolani as the head of the new Syria, giving a stamp of approval to an undemocratic, sectarian takeover of Syria.
For imperialism, yesterday’s boogeyman is today’s freedom fighter. Friends and enemies change with the direction of the imperialist wind.
A global precedent is now set, or rather, brought to light once again. The US uses terrorist groups like Al Qaeda-HTS to destabilize countries that stand contrary to the goals of global imperialism. If that group succeeds in the destabilization operation and is willing to hand the country over to American capital, then a pathway to whitewashing history becomes available.
“Abu Mohammad al-Jolani” becomes Ahmed al-Sharaa. A $10 million bounty is lifted in exchange for total compliance. He is dubbed handsome, young, and promising by the face of world imperialism.
The destruction of a state’s defense capabilities and the seizure of its land without any retaliation becomes totally acceptable. And the criminals in Washington can overlook the sectarian massacres the HTS regime is committing, as this is preferable to a state that stood tall against the Zionist occupation.
Collaboration with imperialism is indeed gruesome. It is a tragic step back in the movement towards global liberation. No time is wasted in integration into the imperialist cause.
HTS will be viewed a model for reactionary groups worldwide – no matter how horrific the massacres you commit, no matter how flimsy your legitimacy, and no matter if you choose to have elections or ignore democratic input all together, as long as you bend the knee to the American cause, you can guarantee the support of Washington.
Dark days are ahead for the region’s sovereign states as Syria evolves into an American client state. As Jolani proposed the construction of a Trump Tower in Damascus, HTS militants forcefully lowered the flag of Sayyeda Zainab’s (s) holy shrine in the same city.
Perhaps this stark contrast best illustrates the orientation of the new Jolanified Syria.
Musa Iqbal is a Boston-based researcher and writer with a focus on US domestic and foreign policy.
(The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Press TV.
