It Was Only A Matter Of Time
The Predictable Collapse of the West's Syrian Fantasy
Yesterday’s Israeli bombing of Damascus, killing three and wounding 34 at the Syrian defence ministry, represents the entirely predictable culmination of one of the most brazen exercises in Western foreign policy delusion in recent memory. But don’t expect any of the architects of this disaster to acknowledge their role in what was always an inevitable catastrophe.
The story of Ahmed al-Sharaa is the story of how Western power centres, in their infinite arrogance, believed they could simply rebrand a terrorist and transform him into a legitimate leader through the sheer force of their media apparatus and diplomatic recognition. What we’re witnessing now is the logical endpoint of that obscene charade.
Let’s be precise about what happened here. Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the same man who orchestrated suicide bombings against US forces in Iraq, who led an Al-Qaeda affiliate responsible for countless atrocities, was magically transformed into Ahmed al-Sharaa, “interim president” and supposed democrat, through nothing more than a name change and a wardrobe update.
This does not represent a gradual evolution or genuine transformation. In December 2024, Jolani’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, still officially designated as a terrorist organisation by the United Nations, rolled into Damascus and seized power. By January 2025, Western leaders were lining up to shake hands with their newly minted “moderate.”
The speed and shamelessness of this rehabilitation campaign would be impressive if it weren’t so morally bankrupt. The same US government that had placed a $10 million bounty on Jolani’s head suddenly lifted all sanctions and welcomed him as a partner. France, that beacon of republican values, rolled out the red carpet in Paris. The Saudis, Turks, and Qataris opened their wallets, pledging billions in aid.
Most grotesquely, Donald Trump, meeting with this former Al-Qaeda commander in Riyadh, praised him as a “dynamic leader.” The media dutifully played along, with major outlets suddenly discovering Jolani’s “pragmatism” and “moderation.” It was a masterclass in manufactured consent, executed with the kind of brazen cynicism that would make Edward Bernays proud.
What followed was entirely predictable to anyone not blinded by their own propaganda. Within months, al-Sharaa’s allies were conducting systematic sectarian massacres across Syria. In Latakia, Tartous, and Homs, HTS-linked militias murdered over 800 Alawite civilians in three days, interrogating families about their religious beliefs before executing them. Twelve thousand Alawites fled to Lebanon, understanding perfectly well what “national unity” means in the lexicon of jihadi governance.
The violence predictably spread. In Sweida, 180 people died in clashes that al-Sharaa’s forces only escalated. This is what happens when you hand power to someone whose only qualification is knowing how to terrorise populations into submission. They continue terrorising populations into submission.
But here’s what’s most revealing: none of this surprised the Western intelligence agencies and foreign policy establishments that engineered al-Sharaa’s rise. They knew exactly who they were dealing with. They simply calculated that a terrorist who could maintain some semblance of order was preferable to the chaos of a genuine democratic transition.
Enter Israel, never one to miss an opportunity to expand its territorial holdings while the world is looking elsewhere. Having already occupied parts of Quneitra and Daraa, expanding well beyond the Golan Heights, yesterday’s bombing of Damascus represents the kind of calculated aggression that Israel specialises in: attacking the weakest possible target while claiming it poses an existential threat.
The bombing concerned security. It demonstrated that al-Sharaa’s government is too weak to defend even its own capital. It was about establishing facts on the ground while the international community remains paralysed by the contradictions of their own policy choices.
Even the Druze communities that Israel claims to be protecting have rejected Israeli “assistance,” understanding that accepting it would make them complicit in yet another occupation. But since when has Israel cared about the actual wishes of the people it claims to be protecting?
The response from al-Sharaa’s Western sponsors has been as pathetic as it was predictable. Marco Rubio’s limp call for “restraint” represents the entirety of US engagement with this crisis. The same people who spent months celebrating al-Sharaa’s “transformation” are now watching him get humiliated in real-time and can barely manage a press statement.
Reports suggest al-Sharaa may be offering Israel territorial concessions just to survive. The great “dynamic leader” preparing to give away Syrian land to avoid having his palace bombed. Revolutionary leadership indeed.
The Saudis, Turks, and Qataris who pledged billions are undoubtedly reconsidering their investments. The Americans who lifted the bounty are pretending this isn’t happening. The French who provided diplomatic legitimacy are nowhere to be found. The think tank experts who wrote op-eds about al-Sharaa’s “pragmatic evolution” have moved on to other topics.
Perhaps most revealing of al-Sharaa’s character, and the West’s complicity, is the treatment of the Syrian Democratic Forces. These Kurdish-led forces were the most effective fighting force against ISIS, doing the heavy lifting that the rest of the international community was unwilling to do. Their reward? A September 2025 ultimatum from al-Sharaa: disband or be destroyed.
Turkey, predictably, supports this move as part of its broader campaign to crush Kurdish autonomy. The United States, meanwhile, is pulling out troops and abandoning yet another ally. Nothing says “America First” like letting your most effective partners get slaughtered by the terrorist you just legitimised.
This goes beyond moral obscenity. It represents strategic insanity. But it perfectly captures the cynical calculations that drive Western policy in the region: use local forces when convenient, discard them when expedient, and never consider the long-term consequences of betrayal.
What we’re witnessing is the entirely predictable collapse of a policy built on lies, maintained through propaganda, and executed with breathtaking cynicism. The same Western “experts” who assured us that al-Sharaa represented Syria’s best hope for stability are now scrambling to explain why their pet terrorist can’t maintain order, can’t protect his capital, and can’t prevent his country from being carved up by its neighbours.
The Syrian people, who suffered under Assad’s brutality for decades, are now discovering that their “liberation” has delivered something potentially worse: unpredictable incompetence combined with sectarian violence. At least Assad’s repression was systematic and predictable. Al-Sharaa offers chaos with a democratic veneer.
But here’s what’s most infuriating: this outcome was entirely foreseeable. Every serious analyst of Syrian politics understood that handing power to a sectarian militia would lead to sectarian violence. Every regional expert knew that Syria’s neighbours would exploit any power vacuum. Every counterterrorism professional understood that legitimising one terrorist group would embolden others.
The blood currently being spilled in Syria is on the hands of everyone who participated in this charade. Trump and his “dynamic leader” theatre. The EU diplomats who treated a terrorist like a head of state. The think tank experts who provided intellectual cover for this moral catastrophe. The journalists who uncritically amplified the transformation narrative.
They all knew better. They all chose to participate anyway. And when the predictable consequences arrived, they all pretended to be surprised.
This is how American foreign policy works in practice: create disasters, profit from the chaos, and move on to the next crisis while the bodies pile up behind you. The only thing that changes is the location and the scale of the carnage.
The tragedy extends beyond this single occurrence. It will happen again, because the same people who engineered this disaster are still in power, still making the same calculations, still believing that they can remake the world through force and propaganda. And the rest of us will continue to pay the price for their delusions.
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