Michael Rubin is dismayed over the way Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has convinced President Donald Trump and his Middle East envoy Tom Barrack that he has abandoned his previous support for Al Qaeda — not so long ago the American government had a $10 million bounty on his head — and can now be trusted […]
Israel and the Syrian Threat
While Ahmed al-Sharaa, who has traded his combat fatigues for a suit and tie and insists he wants peace with all of Syria’s neighbors, has clearly taken in the Americans, from Ambassador Tom Barrack to President Donald Trump, the Israelis have not been fooled. They have seen his army’s attacks on the minorities — the […]
Syrian army takes Al-Hol camp, which houses Islamic State jihadis, from Kurdish forces
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) reliably oversaw the al-Hol camp for years. The Syrian military under jihadist president Ahmed al-Sharaa cannot be trusted. The SDF also has for years urged the U.S.-led coalition to take responsibility for the facility’s security, which would have been to the region’s (and world’s) benefit. Incidents at Al Hol […]
In Syria, Israel Will Not Be Withdrawing
The Israelis are disinclined to trust Ahmed al-Sharaa, the new ruler of Syria. There are too many jihadists who were in his rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) who then became members of the Syrian army but have not shed their ideology. They are not impressed with his having traded his camouflage fatigues for a […]
Minorities in Syria Still Under Attack
Though Ahmed al-Sharaa continues to present himself as a “moderate,” and someone who will protect Syria’s minorities — Alawites, Druze, Kurds, and Christians — members of his own armed forces have been attacking, and killing, members of all those groups. In March, Sunnis, including veterans of al-Sharaa’s rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, killed 1,500 Alawites […]
Al-Sharaa, the Minorities, and the Syrian State
Ahmed al-Sharaa has a fan in the White House. Donald Trump has convinced himself that al-Sharaa, a “strong leader,” is the right man to rule in Syria. But there are many reasons to suspect that al-Sharaa is not the moderate he pretends to be, and that his rule will harm all of the many minorities […]
Trump Administration All In, Alas, with Ahmed al-Sharaa
Donald Trump is apparently taken with Ahmed al-Sharaa, a man whom he admires as a “strong leader,” and who, he devoutly believes, is a “moderate,” someone who has cut all ties with his past as a member of al-Qaeda with a $10-million-dollar bounty on his head, a bounty that the United States offered. Just now, […]
Killer of 3 Americans in Syria Was Member of Government’s Security Forces
We’re being lied to. The question I asked right after we were told that an ‘ISIS terrorist’ had killed 2 American National Guard members and an American interpreter was… are we being lied to. Unfortunately we are. The Kurdish sources who described the terrorist as a member of the Al Qaeda government’s security forces were […]
3 Americans Just Died for Syria
And for Qatar, Turkey and Muslim ‘nation-building’. We were told it was never going to happen. It just happened. Two American soldiers, members of the Iowa National Guard, and a civilian interpreter were killed in a Muslim terrorist attack. The official press release states that this was an attack by an ISIS terrorist. The Trump […]
Al Qaeda Leader Running Syria Says America Is the Real ‘Terrorist’
“What is the definition of terrorism or a terrorist?” Qatar’s Islamist regime showed off its global power at its ‘Doha’ summit attracting everyone from Bill Gates to Tucker Carlson to current Syrian leader and former Al Qaeda leader Ahmed al-Sharaa. The former terrorist leader who had a $5 million reward on his head when he […]