Archiv: Ahmed Hussein al-Shar'a / Abu Mohammad al-Julani / leader of HTS militia / Syria invasion


07.01.2025 - 19:23 [ MintPressNews.com ]

From ‘Terrorist’ to ‘Freedom Fighter’: How the West Rebranded Al-Qaeda’s Jolani as Syria’s ‘Woke’ New Leader

(December 12, 2024)

In 2003, he went to Iraq to fight against American forces. After three years of war, he was captured by the U.S. military and spent over five years in prison, including a stint at the notorious Abu Ghraib torture center.

While in Iraq, Jolani fought with ISIS and was even a deputy to its founder. Immediately upon release in 2011, ISIS sent him to Syria with a rumored $1 billion to found the Syrian wing of al-Qaeda and participate in the armed protest movement against Assad that arose out of the Arab Spring.

04.01.2025 - 16:07 [ NewArab.com ]

Controversy as Syria‘s de-facto ruler declines to shake hands with German FM Annalena Baerbock

Baerbock and her French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot visited Syria in a sign of support for the transitional government, where they expressed willingness to help the war-torn country after Bashar al-Assad’s regime was toppled last month, making them the first European officials to do so.

04.01.2025 - 16:02 [ MSN.com ]

German, French foreign ministers meet with Syria‘s HTS Islamist group

Syria‘s new de facto ruler and leader of the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) received an EU delegation led by German Foreign Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot on Friday.

01.01.2025 - 18:16 [ Antiwar.com ]

Foreign Jihadists Appointed to Senior Positions in New Syrian Military

Syrian sources told Reuters that the foreign fighters appointed to the military include Uyghurs, a Jordanian, a Turk, and an Albanian. “This is a small token of recognition for the sacrifices Islamist jihadists gave to our struggle for freedom from Assad’s oppression,” an HTS source told the media outlet.
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HTS is still designated by the US as a foreign terrorist organization, but the Biden administration has celebrated its takeover of Syria. The US has also made clear it’s willing to work with the new government and its de facto leader, Abu Mohammad al-Julani, who has been going by his real name Ahmed al-Sharaa.

30.12.2024 - 09:31 [ Antiwar.com ]

Syria’s De Facto Leader Says It Will Take Four Years To Hold Elections

“The process of writing the constitution may take about three years, and we look forward to a constitution that lasts for the longest possible period, and this is a difficult and lengthy task,” Julani, the former leader of al-Qaeda in Syria, told Al-Arabiya. “Organizing elections may take four years; any valid elections will require a comprehensive population census.”

Julani and his group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is an offshoot of al-Qaeda, took over Syria after former President Bashar al-Assad fled on December 8. Julani has appointed HTS officials to senior positions in the new “transitional government,” including Anas Hassan Khattab, another former al-Qaeda commander who was named Syria’s intelligence chief.

22.12.2024 - 04:23 [ Antiwar.com ]

US Official Has ‘Good, Productive’ Meeting with al-Qaeda-Linked Julani in Damascus

Julani fought for al-Qaeda in Iraq against American soldiers during the Iraq War. He then founded al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, the al-Nusra Front. In recent years, he has attempted to soften his image by giving friendly interviews to Western journalists, often appearing in a suit and with a trimmed beard to obscure his jihadist ideology.

Leaf said of Julani after the meeting, who is also going by Ahmad al-Sharaa, “I heard him on his priorities, which are very much rooted in getting Syria on the road to economic recovery.”

“We’ve been hearing this for some time, some very pragmatic and moderate statements on various issues, from women’s rights to protection to equal rights for all communities,” she added. “It was a good first meeting. We will judge by deeds, not just by words.”

19.12.2024 - 15:15 [ Nachdenkseiten ]

Der Umsturz in Syrien, seine Hintergründe und möglichen Auswirkungen

Und was Israel angeht – auf kurze Sicht profitiert es wohl davon. Israel hat die Situation dazu genutzt, mehr Land zu besetzen, angeblich Waffenlager zerstört. Aber ich kann mir nicht vorstellen, dass ein islamischer Staat auf längere Sicht gut für Israel ist.

Vor einem guten Jahr hat sich in der israelischen Führung ein riesiger Wandel vollzogen. Ein wichtiges Ziel dieser neuen Strömung: Es darf keinen Palästinenserstaat geben. Man will einen durch und durch jüdischen Staat. Israels Bevölkerung ist zerrissen, was diese Themen angeht, fast am Rande eines Bürgerkrieges. Netanjahu ist autoritärer denn je, er hat alles persönlich unter Kontrolle.

Und es hat sich noch etwas drastisch verändert: Die Israelis in den 70er- und 80er-Jahren waren säkulare Europäer, diese Menschen an der Regierung heute sind alttestamentarisch. Sie sind nicht der Logik und der Ratio zugänglich, sondern sie fühlen sich ihrer quasi biblischen Vision verpflichtet. Da ist magisches Denken am Werk.
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Für mich ist das eine Art geopolitisches Schneeballsystem. Netanjahu setzt alles daran, die Kämpfe am Laufen zu halten – würde man innehalten und das Ganze hinterfragen, würde das System kollabieren wie bei einem Schneeballsystem.

08.12.2024 - 02:00 [ Antiwar.com ]

Jake Sullivan Says US Won’t ‘Cry’ About the Pressure Syria Is Facing from Al-Qaeda-Linked Fighters

(December 2, 2024)

US officials have not been shy in the past about their preference for HTS and its leader, Abu Mohammad al-Julani, over other factions in Syria. James Jeffrey, an American diplomat who served as a special envoy to Syria under the Trump administration from 2018-2020, said in a 2021 interview that HTS was “an asset” to the US’s strategy in Idlib, a northwestern Syrian province that’s been under HTS control since 2017.