The Syrian War Shows There is a Fine Line Between US Enemy and Ally

Al Qaeda was our ally, then our enemy, and now our ally again

There is a revealing story from the US intervention in the 1988 USSR war in Afghanistan. a captured Mujahideen fighter had mocked the United States for “supporting its own enemies.” The enemies this fighter was referring to were Al-Qaeda and the Mujahideen. It’s not 100% that this story is true, but what is true is that the organizations that the United States has funded have nothing but contempt for them. It’s incredible to think that at the time, Bin Laden was fighting on the side of the United States.

We all know how this worked out. Al Qaeda was to attack the United States on 9/11, killing 2977 and leaving the US in a state of political and emotional turmoil. The United States looked vulnerable on the world stage like never before. It was also an embarrassment to the Security State of the United States. The most powerful military in the world was attacked by its own airplanes.

Bin Laden and his Al Qaeda fighters were designated as a terror organization and immediately became enemy #1 for the West. George Bush and Dick Cheney, who were looking for an excuse to attack the Middle East, got their wish. 9/11 would gain consent from a shocked and terrified public without Either of them lifting a finger. They were to take quick and full advantage of this opportunity as they quickly invaded Afghanistan as part of the larger War on Terror.

The War on Terror was a nameless, faceless, vague war against terrorism. An individual could be deemed a terrorist at will. It was almost like carte blanche for murder in the Middle East. Al Qaeda was the central point of focus. The military launched campaigns to kill and scatter Al Qaeda. Constant news stories declared that Al Qaeda “was on the run” and that the US had disrupted their operation. Al Qaeda was the poster child for the US War on Terror until the US decided to turn its attention to Iraq. To help sell the war on Iraq, Sadaam Hussein was accused of being responsible for 9/11 by backing Al Qaeda.

Iraq’s role in 9/11 turned out to be a lie- a useful one at the time. Along with the false weapons of mass destruction assertions, tying Saddam Hussein to 9/11 helped get the ball rolling against Iraq. It also was a way to vilify Al Qaeda further. The point is how seriously Al Qaeda was presented as an enemy.

Then, the war in Syria began in 2011, and the United States began to back Syrian rebels, including Al Qaeda, and their “spinoffs.” Yes, the group that attacked the US was now an ally. Overnight, all was forgiven and forgotten. The mainstream media did its usual turnaround on a dime and stopped referring to Al-Qaeda as a terrorist group. The rationale was that Al-Qaeda was fighting ISIL, which was also designated as a terror group. It’s a setup for failure.

And now Ahmed al-Shara, formerly known as Jolani from a group formerly known as Al-Qaeda, is in charge of Syria. But don’t worry, al-Shara promises he will be a good boy. He says he has learned from his experiences and plans to move forward as a moderate. Magically, he has morphed into someone who speaks the language the West wants to hear. He’s offering immunity to Syrian soldiers that he fought against, talks about supporting Israel, and not forcing women to wear Islamic clothing.

The propaganda has started. BBC ran an article praising al-Shara as someone who has re-invented himself. The stories are emerging about the brutality of Bashar al-Assad. But it’s unlikely that the same coverage will be given to the murders committed by al-Shara. According to

Aaron Maté

, al-Shara also has much blood on his hands:

Despite the appeal to newfound self-awareness, Jolani has not apologized for the atrocities committed by forces under his command. These include an August 2013 killing spree in scores of villages in Latakia, the heartland of Syria’s Alawite minority. According to Human Rights Watch, Nusra and other insurgent groups, including ISIS and the CIA-armed Free Syrian Army, engaged in “the systematic killing of entire families.”

Human Rights Watch also reported the following (HTS is a rebranding of al-Qaeda):

Hay’et Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Jaysh al-Izza (JAI), and affiliated groups launched indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas under government control. These attacks have led to scores of civilian casualties and may have amounted to war crimes, according to the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria (COI).

Forgive my lack of optimism on this “new and improved” version of Al-Shara, but as the proverb goes, “people who are born square don’t die round.”

It’s typical of the media to promote horror stories of their enemies and ignore similar stories about their allies. al-Assad was undoubtedly brutal, but don’t lose sight of who is replacing him. As a leader, al-Assad had access to resources and had decision-making power to pull off his atrocities. As the new leader, al-Shara will now have access to these resources and be empowered to use them.

The US security state thinks in terms of short-term victories but doesn’t consider the long-term consequences of its actions. To the US security state, war is like a drug. It gives them a momentary high and some bad crashes back to reality,

This situation reminds me of a 1960’s song called “The Snake” by Johnny Rivers. In this song, a woman finds a snake freezing to death outside. She takes the snake in and takes care of it. She rushes home from work to feed the snake, but the snake bites her. She is shocked by the snake turning on her. The final verse of the lyrics says:

"I saved you," cried that woman
"And you've bit me, but why?
You know your bite is poisonous, and now I'm gonna die"
"Oh shut up, silly woman," said that reptile with a grin
"You knew darn well I was a snake before you took me in"

It shows how twisted US policy can be. It’s reminiscent of the first Iraqi war. In the run-up to the war, we were told that Sadaam Hussein was the butcher of Baghdad. He was the new Hitler. He had invaded Kuwait (quite possibly with the United States’ blessing). He was not going to stop there. He was to take over or destroy the world, depending on which report you read. It was impossible to make too harsh of a statement about Hussein. The US was worked into a frenzy. After the US “liberated” Kuwait, they left Sadaam in power and stood back when he butchered the Kurds. The enemy is an enemy until we need them to be an ally.

Calling this a “victory” for the West is quite a stretch. The US has set itself up for more trouble in some shape or form. Al-Shara is unlikely to change despite his conciliatory words. This will end up as yet another case of “blowback.” An old expression goes, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice—shame on me. The expression fails to tell us what happens if you fool someone repeatedly.