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Do Jihadi Terrorists Now Rule Syria?

(Telegraph-UK) Col. (ret.) Richard Kemp - Turkish President Erdogan, with an eye both on the destruction of Kurdish forces in northern Syria and his broader expansionary Islamist agenda, gave the green light to his terrorist proxies in Syria to move to bring down Assad. In a lightning offensive Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) burst out from Idlib, seizing the major cities of Aleppo, Hama, Homs and now Damascus. Given the Assad regime's monstrosities, many in the West have been enthusiastic about its fall, with some even hailing HTS as the good guys. Not so fast. We can see many echoes of Afghanistan in what's been happening in Syria. Remember how in 2021 the Taliban tried to convince the world that they had changed. Their spokesman said they would not seek revenge on those who had collaborated with Coalition forces and the U.S.-backed government, and would even respect women's rights and press freedom. We know how that worked out. Well, HTS is trying the same trick now. We should not forget that HTS is a jihadist group with origins in al-Qaeda. For the time being, HTS has its sights set on control within Syria. But it is not credible that they will not turn their attention beyond the borders in time. Before welcoming the rise of HTS, we should bear in mind that the enemy of my enemy can still be my enemy. The writer, a former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, was chairman of the UK's national crisis management committee, COBRA.
2024-12-10 00:00:00
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