Syria is firmly in the hands of an Al Qaeda offshoot and there’s nothing the rest of the world can do about it. Apparently, trying to replace the rebel government would cause more chaos and destruction than leaving them alone. Nobody will ever forget what happened in Libya with Muammar Gaddafi.
Strange bedfellows in Syria
Antony Blinken officially announced that the outgoing administration is cuddling up to the known terror faction running Syria. Politics, the old saying goes, makes for strange bedfellows. Washington, Blinky admits, has made “direct contact” with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
Specifically, “over the fate of the long missing American journalist, Austin Tice.” It’s not clear if HTS issued a response.
Nobody can tell what President Donald Trump will do about the Syria situation when he takes charge in January but until then, the U.S. will be cautiously doing business with known terrorists and trying to make the best of it.
Blinken isn’t brave enough to venture into Damascus but he flew over to Jordan for a meeting with local Arab leaders in Aqaba.
The outcome of the meeting was a decision to leave things alone for now. “Officials from the U.S., Turkey and a number of Arab countries have agreed to support a peaceful transition process in Syria.”
They have one good reason, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi declares. Regional leaders don’t want Damascus to “descend into chaos.”
Tone down the terrorism
Blinky seems willing to go along with the Arabs to try a little diplomacy. Those attending the Aqaba conference issued a “joint communique.” The carefully worded message calls for the HTS to establish “an inclusive Syrian government that respects the rights of minorities and does not offer a base for terrorist groups.”
Nobody misses the fact that HTS is itself a terrorist group. That doesn’t simply mean not to invite their friends to the party. It’s a thinly veiled “suggestion” to Syria, “stop acting so much like terrorists.”
Nobody really likes having HTS in charge. Nobody liked “toppled” President Bashar al-Assad either. He had been propped up in power by Iran and Russia. Now, just like before, they’re stuck with whoever is running Syria at the moment. Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein summed up the situation.
Trying to oust the rebels in favor of more reasonable leaders would quickly explode in their faces. Regional players, Hussein observed, “did not want to see another Libya.” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan agreed that “we have to coordinate our efforts and learn from the mistakes of the past.”
HTS, “has indicated that it is seeking an inclusive government” but nobody trusts them. “The group’s violent jihadist past has left some doubting whether it will live up to such promises.”
It was hard not to notice that nobody showed up at the big meeting in Jordan to represent HTS. The foreign ministers from eight Arab countries that did attend the meeting had a lot to say behind their back. The general consensus is they want “to ensure that Syria was unified and not split along sectarian lines.“
