Mohammad Mahdi Abbasi, researcher in the field of American Studies
The blaze of the Syrian civil war, ignited in 2011, quickly turned into a theater for the intervention of global powers. The most significant global power playing a key and critical role in this crisis was the United States of America. Under the banner of supporting Syrian democracy-seekers, the US entered the arena, but, in practice, it supported groups that were entirely terrorist in nature.
Whether in the years 2014 to 2017 — when by creating or at least secretly supporting ISIS terrorist group, it drove Syria into chaos and insecurity — or nowadays, by designing a new civil war and secretly strengthening terrorists affiliated with al-Qaeda, it seeks to partition Syria.
Years ago, speaking of US support for armed terrorist groups might have seemed like a “conspiracy theory” to many, but in recent years, many Western politicians have acknowledged this, turning the US government’s connection to terrorists in the region into an undeniable fact.
For example, a few months ago Robert F. Kennedy, a US presidential candidate and a probable Health Secretary in Trump’s second administration, said in an interview with Al Arabiya: “We created ISIS. We drove four million immigrants up into Europe.”
Similarly, a few years ago, Congressman Matt Gaetz admitted on the floor of the US Congress that the US had supported Syrian rebels, stating: “Sometimes the rebels we fund to go fight Assad turn around and raise the ISIS flag. It’s thus quite silly to be saying we have to withdraw to stop ISIS, when it is our very presence in Syria, in some cases, that has been the best gift to ISIS!”
In addition, former British ambassador, Craig Murray, have recently described the latest developments in Syria not as a “revolution” but as foreign interference by the US to destabilize the region.
International analysts and experts have also commented extensively on this issue. For example, Jeffrey Sachs, a renowned Columbia University professor, explicitly pointed to US role in the current events in Syria a few days ago. He said that today’s situation in Syria is the result of the policies of the United States and Israel, which have deliberately toppled various governments one after another, leaving not only destruction but also a vast region of instability. “Sunni jihadists,” Sachs continues, “have been backed by the United States since 1979, not on every occasion but multiple occasions, [including] in the Balkans, in Chechnya, in the Middle East, in Afghanistan. … It’s very important for everybody to understands that the US has been essentially a perpetual war in the Middle East since 2001 at Israel’s behest.”
Similarly, a host and expert on Sky News Arabia, in a recent interview, introduced the leaders of terrorist groups active in Syria as proxies of the US and the West, stating that there is information indicating that military advisors from Eastern Europe have been training members of HTS, and that al-Jolani has long been known among al-Qaeda members as an American spy.
Larry Johnson, a former CIA analyst, also recently described the recent events in the region as a Western plan to expand the war in Ukraine, saying: “There are also Ukrainian soldiers in Syria side by side with the HTS fighters. … How do you think they got there? This is the United States and Great Britain helping foment this and carry this out. And it’s being coordinated also with Israel!”
All these statements indicate a complex design by a joint American–Israeli think tank for the future of Syria and West Asia. The bombing of 75 Syrian infrastructure and vital sites by the US, the bombing of 300 Syrian military and critical points by the Zionist regime, and the reports of the US government hastily removing the $10 million bounty for the capture of the leader of HTS are all important pieces of evidence pointing to this dangerous scheme.
What’s more astonishing is that American media outlets these days are working in concert with their government to whitewash and conceal the crimes of terrorist groups inside Syria. These media outlets deliberately ignore the partitioning of Syria and the terrorist nature of the rebels, instead speaking of a wholly popular revolution in that country!
But aside from the security and political benefits of the Syrian civil war for the United States and its main ally, the Zionist regime, one must not overlook the economic advantages this situation provides for America. These interests have continually driven the US to strengthen its foothold in West Asia. Donald Trump, the then US president, admitted this several years ago during a meeting with Turkish President at the White House, stating: “We’re keeping the oil, we have the oil, the oil is secure, we left troops behind only for the oil.”
In conclusion, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khamenei, in his recent meeting with people from different segmens of society, pointed directly to the clear role of the United States and the Zionist regime in the recent events in Syria and said: “No one should doubt that what has taken place in Syria is the product of a joint US-Israeli plot. … the primary conspirators and control room are in the United States and the Zionist regime. We have evidence of this that leaves no room for doubt for anyone.”
Without a doubt, this design is accompanied by the US government’s miscalculation of the capabilities of the Axis of Resistance, and like all American schemes in recent decades, it will surely end in a decisive defeat.
(The views expressed in this article are author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of Khamenei.ir.)
