Above photo: Syria’s unelected Western-backed “President” Ahmed al-Sharaa (aka Abu Mohammad al-Julani) was welcomed in Saudi Arabia.
US-Israeli aggression against Syria is part of longer strategy to destroy the Axis of Resistance.
And defeat the movement for Palestinian liberation.
Opposition forces backed by NATO member Turkey launched an offensive in Syria, in coordination with Israel and the United States, on November 27, 2024.
Within 11 days, the government of the Syrian Arab Republic was toppled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a group led by Abu Mohammad al-Julani, who now uses his birth name Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Sharaa, who was appointed the unelected “president” of Syria, was previously leader of Al-Nusra Front, the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda. He was also an emissary of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the founder of ISIS.
Far from a grassroots effort, the Syrian opposition was replete with foreign fighters from across the globe, with some fighters looking to get experience and then move on to other missions.
The Syrian opposition received large amounts of arms, funds, and training from outside countries, including the US, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Turkey, and even Ukraine.
In fact, the CIA’s covert program to arm the Syrian opposition, Operation Timber Sycamore, is possibly its most expensive regime change effort since Operation Cyclone, its program to arm anti-communist forces in Afghanistan, which led to the rise of Osama bin Laden.
Beyond arms shipments to opposition groups, Israel also has a record of treating injured Al-Nusra Front fighters and coordinating attacks with them.
The Decades-Long US-Israeli War On Syria
The United States’ war efforts against Syria go back to the end of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War. The CIA, displeased by Syria’s relationship with the Soviet Union, began covert operations in the 1940s.
After continuing its coup attempts through the 1950s, the US became more disgruntled when the Syrian Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party came to power in 1963, threatened by Syria’s growing economic independence and strengthening of ties to the Soviet Union.
Additionally, Syria’s support for national liberation movements, including the Palestinian cause, was another thorn in the side of the US imperialists.
After 9/11, Syria was one of seven countries put in Washington’s crosshairs as a part of its “War on Terror” rampage.
As General Wesley Clark revealed, the US planned to overthrow seven governments, seizing on the opportunity beginning in 2001: Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Iran.
Syria angered the US further when it allowed volunteer fighters to join the Iraqi resistance against the US, taking a strong stance against the 2003 invasion.
Of course, the US saw Syria as a target on the road to Tehran, their ultimate enemy in the Middle East.
James Rubin, former assistant secretary of state under Bill Clinton, laid out this case in an email to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, commenting:
The best way to help Israel deal with Iran’s growing nuclear capability is to help the people of Syria overthrow the regime of Bashar Assad. …
It is the strategic relationship between Iran and the regime of Bashar Assad in Syria that makes it possible for Iran to undermine Israel’s security. … The end of the Assad regime would end this dangerous alliance. …
Then, Israel and the United States might be able to develop a common view of when the Iranian program is so dangerous that military action could be warranted.
These grievances set the stage for the US to launch its dirty war on Syria beginning in 2011.
Syria’s Support For Palestine
Having fought in wars against Israel in 1948, 1967, and 1973, Syria has never normalized relations with the Zionist regime.
Israel has always wanted a friendly government in Syria, with fanatics ultimately aiming to take even more of Syria to establish a “Greater Israel.”
More recently, Israel’s animosity towards Syria has been fueled by Syria’s support for Hezbollah in Lebanon. A strong ally dating back to the latter’s inception, Syria has played an important role since Hezbollah was founded in 1982.
Syria’s support was instrumental in Hezbollah’s victory against Israel in the 2006 war, and it served as a crucial supply line from Iran to Hezbollah for weapons used in the northern front against Israel following the Al Aqsa Flood operation.
Furthermore, Syria hosted Palestinian Fedayeen training camps beginning in the 1960s; long served as the headquarters for Palestinian resistance factions, such as the PFLP; and opened offices for Hamas and PIJ during the Second Intifada.
Syria’s support for Palestinian and Lebanese resistance long made it an Israeli target.
Since the conclusion of the offensive and the ascent of HTS to power, Israel has relentlessly bombed Syria, with its air force carrying out 480 strikes over the course of two days.
Bombing all the military supplies, equipment, vehicles, and infrastructure it can, Israel attempted to destroy Syria’s sovereignty and ability to defend itself.
At the same time, Israeli Occupation Forces have expanded their occupation of Syria further into the Golan Heights and announced that they will double their settler population in the occupied region.
It is important to acknowledge that Israel’s surging aggression against Syria is not merely an opportunistic attempt to exploit the recent developments, but rather part of a longer strategy to weaken or destroy the Axis of Resistance.
During the HTS-led offensive, opposition fighters thanked Israel for making the attack possible by weakening Hezbollah, saying that they love Israel and would like good relations with the Zionist regime.
Syria’s de facto leader Sharaa/Julani stated that HTS does not want any conflict with Israel. Reports surfaced that his government has kicked Palestinian resistance factions out of Syria.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu celebrated the regime change, with Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz claiming it is “a severe blow to the evil Iranian axis, which set itself the goal of bringing about the destruction of the State of Israel.”
The Necessity Of Anti-Imperialism
Going forward, the student movement for Palestine must affirm itself as an anti-imperialist movement.
The fall of the Syrian government would not have been possible without US interference – not only its arming and training of opposition forces, but also its murderous sanctions and theft of natural resources, designed to cripple the state and de-develop the economy.
The US has shown no intention of ending its occupation of northeastern Syria, where it is currently stealing the country’s oil.
The new Syrian government has stated that it will be shifting more toward a free-market economy.
Nevertheless, there were virtually no protests in the US against the NATO-backed 11 day offensive in Syria, and at the time of writing, there has been just one demonstration in support of the Axis of Resistance, amidst the Israeli bombing and land theft in Syria.
With Israel now looking to continue its aggression and target Iran directly, and while the US and UK are bombing Yemen, we must oppose Western attempts to sugarcoat their aggression within a liberal human rights framework.
As activists in the imperial core, it is our duty to resist all US and Zionist efforts to crush international solidarity with Palestine, be it through sanctions, coups, color revolutions, terror bombing, or pacification.
Western imperialists are not a force for liberation.
Recognizing that Zionism serves as an arm of US imperialism means rejecting it wherever it rears its ugly head, from Palestine, Syria, and Iran, to Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, to Russia and China, and beyond.
Mike Miccioli is a PhD student at the University of Chicago. He is a member of Students for Justice in Palestine and was active in Assange Defense Boston.