Wither Jolani’s Syria?

Yusuf Dhia-Allah

Ramadan 01, 1446 2025-03-01

News & Analysis

by Yusuf Dhia-Allah (News & Analysis, Crescent International Vol. 55, No. 1, Ramadan, 1446)

Since declaring himself the president of Syria, Abu Muhammad al-Jolani has dropped his nom de guerre and started to use his real name Ahmed al-Sharaa. He has also discarded his turban, trimmed his scraggly beard and put on a suit and tie.

To act and feel like a president, attire is important. After all, one has to meet leaders and officials of other countries. Mr Jolani is settling in and feeling comfortable in his new assigned role, given to him by his masters: the US, Israel and Turkiye.

He and his band of head choppers and organ eaters, however, have not given up all their old habits. Organ-eating may have been abandoned, at least in public, but head-chopping is still continuing.

Minorities—Alawites, Christians and Shi‘as—are targeted despite public assurances by Jolani that they will be protected. Gruesome pubic execution of civilians in villages in and around Homs have taken place. Who is responsible for such atrocities and why has Jolani’s regime failed to rein them in? Does it even want to stop them or this is part of a campaign to terrorize people into submission?

Jolani has publicly declared that former regime officials will be pursued and executed. Hanging of former officials have taken place and in one instance, one official was publicly executed. Their houses have been looted and ransacked.

No trials have been held; none deemed necessary. Vigilante justice is dispensed. This does not bode well for the future of Syria.

As these atrocities continue, Jolani is beginning to settle into his new position enjoying the trappings of power. Elections will not be held for four years, if at all, he has said repeatedly. He says that the constitution must be drafted first. Fair enough, but why would it take three years to do so, as he has claimed? Surely, even among the head choppers there must be some legal experts.

The real reason appears to be that now that Jolani and his henchmen are in power, they feel no need for elections. He could point to the neighbourhood. What country has held elections and which ruler is democratically elected: Muhammad bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt, King Abdullah-II of Jordan, Muhammad bin Zayed of UAE or Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani of Qatar? Jolani’s new best friends, the genocidal zionist war criminals are a breed apart. He is in good company.

It is the larger scene that bodes ill for Syria. Zionist Israel has occupied large swathes of southern Syria expanding its presence beyond the Golan Heights. The occupation army is building permanent structures on the occupied Golan Heights and on Jabal al-Sheikh (Mount Hermon).

There is not even a whisper of protest from Jolani and his henchmen against Israel’s brazen theft and occupation of Syrian land. Instead, Syria’s Interior Ministry has published a new map of Syria that excludes the Golan Heights. In the north west, Alexandretta has also been excluded, indicating it has been ceded to Turkiye. Under what authority are the new rulers handing over Syrian territory to Israel and Turkiye? Have they sought approval of the Syrian people?

Their venom is directed at Iran and Hizbullah. They are, however, tiptoeing in their relationship with Russia, aware that they need Moscow’s help. This was recently demostrated by the new regime receiving a fresh batch of Syrian notes amid a severe currency crunch (see also here). These were printed in Moscow during Bashar al-Asad’s regime but not delivered yet.

The irony is that the notes carry Asad’s picture on them! Is Jolani going to advise the people to tear out Asad’s picture? No doubt, we will soon see Syrian pounds with Jolani’s picture in suit and tie printed on them but for now he has to swallow this bitter pill. The bank notes’ saga accurately reflects Syria’s dilemma.

The Europeans have demanded that the new Syrian rulers close Russia’s naval base at Tartus and air base at Hmeimim before they will consider establishing relations with Damascus. Russian military presence has been drastically reduced but negotiations are underway to allow for the presence of Russian bases. Syria needs them to facilitate the unloading of goods.

Donald Trump has said that he does not wish to get involved in Syria, but the US still maintains about 2200 troops occupying the north-east of the country. That is where Syria’s oil fields as well as most productive lands are located, thereby maintaining a stranglehold on the country’s economy.

Not only is Syria under sanctions, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the group headed by Jolani, is also sanctioned. America has been involved in a delicate love dance with Jolani. The $10 million bounty on his head was withdrawn soon after his band of armed thugs entered Damascus on December 8, 2024. Removal of his terrorist designation was necessary to facilitate meetings of British and American officials with Jolani in Damascus. On December 15, then US Secretary of State confirmed that American officials were in “direct contact” with Jolani and his group.

Welcome to the newly “liberated” Syria, now under zionist, Turkish, US occupation. Did we miss any names? The Arab regimes do not count for anything since they are all slaves of the US and zionist Israel.