OPINION: By portraying the Syrian conflict as a heroic fight for democracy and freedom, the narrative obscures the underlying geopolitical objectives, which include weakening the resistance to Israeli and allied interests, writes Dr Reneva Fourie.

On Sunday, 8 December, rebels took control of Syria. Almost immediately after Damascus fell, the Israeli military ordered the deployment of its 98th Division, along with paratroopers and commandos, to the Syrian border.

This was accompanied by heavy missile strikes on Damascus, specifically targeting Syria’s air defence bases and ammunition depots in support of the rebels.

The recent Islamic extremist military activity in Syria marks a troubling resurgence of a conflict that began with peaceful protests in 2011 but quickly escalated into a full-scale war.

This tragic situation was fuelled by foreign interventions and proxy wars, along with a persistent narrative aimed at demonising the Syrian government. By 2019, however, Syria had stabilised, and its government initiated a significant infrastructure repair programme despite facing intensified US-led sanctions.

On the night of 27 November, the aggression against Syria saw a significant escalation when Jabhat al-Nusra, joined by various foreign fighters driven by extremist ideologies, and now rebranded as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, launched a new military operation known as ‘Deterring Aggression.’

This offensive received backing from several foreign nations, including Turkey, Israel, Ukraine, and other Western forces. Within just ten days, the overwhelmed Syrian government capitulated due to a shortage of cash, fuel, and weapon supplies.

Beginning in the western countryside of Aleppo, the attack was anything but spontaneous; it was a meticulously planned operation.

These Islamic extremist factions, bolstered by considerable military and financial aid from abroad, were armed with state-of-the-art weapons and advanced drone technology.

They executed a series of coordinated assaults from multiple fronts, targeting both positions held by the Syrian Arab Army and innocent civilians. This strategy showcased a blatant disregard for human rights and national sovereignty.

Reports indicate that foreign fighters, many of whom were heard communicating in Turkish and Ukrainian, comprised a significant portion of the attacking forces.

This highlights not only the transnational nature of the threat that faced Syria but also the sheer audacity with which foreign powers engage in their proxy wars.

By supporting these groups, countries like Turkey and those in the West were not just facilitating the continuation of violence. Still, they were also violating international laws that explicitly prohibit the support of terrorism.

Amidst the chaos, approximately two million citizens were displaced from Aleppo and surrounding areas, fleeing from the brutality of these heavily armed extremist forces.

This mass exodus underscores the tragic reality that civilians bear the brunt of these conflicts, forced to abandon their homes and livelihoods due to the malevolent actions of foreign-backed terrorists.

The narratives propagated by the West and its allies regarding humanitarian concerns become increasingly hollow when contrasted with the real experiences of displaced Syrians seeking refuge within their own country due to their aggression.

The West’s strategy was always aimed at weakening regional alliances that opposed Israeli and Western dominance.

The US leveraged the narrative of combating Islamic extremism to justify its presence in the north of Syria, its ongoing theft of Syrian oil, and its military backing of the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Free Syrian Army.

However, the US and its allies are now promoting Abu Mohammed al Jolani, the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham – an entity officially designated as extremist by even the US – as a figurehead for freedom fighting a supposed tyrannical Assad regime.

Known for propping up Islamists to remove secular governments, this geopolitical agenda illustrates how the West has supported extremist factions in Syria under the pretence of fostering democracy.

Many of these groups maintain links to al-Qaeda and other Islamic extremist terrorist organisations. Yet, their violent actions are often overlooked or rationalised as part of a broader campaign against the Syrian government.

Western powers, particularly the US, the UK, and France, along with their regional allies like Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar, funnelled support to opposition groups, some of which had radical Islamist leanings. Meanwhile, Israel continued to bomb Syrian territory with impunity while avoiding condemnation from its Western allies.

The regime change in Syria serves to redirect global attention away from Israel’s brutal occupation of Palestine and genocidal activities in Gaza. It also forms part of a well-coordinated Western strategy aimed at destabilising the West Asian region and dismantling the ‘axis of resistance.’ The groundwork for this coalition was laid by Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, followed by Syria’s Ba’athist regime, Hezbollah’s rise in Lebanon, and later, various entities in Iraq and Yemen. The ‘axis of resistance’, a formidable geopolitical bloc, emerged united by its steadfast opposition to Western interventions and Israeli policies in the region.

It is particularly alarming that this recent offensive came right on the heels of a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. With Gaza in ruins, Hezbollah and Yemen relatively neutralised, and the Syrian government overthrown, Iran finds itself isolated. The storming of the Iranian Embassy in Damascus bears the signs of external orchestration, suggesting that the changes in Syria were not merely about Assad’s government. The overarching goal behind these actions seems to be the reshaping of West Asia to bypass anti-Western influences, ensuring the region stays aligned with Western economic and strategic priorities.

The regime change in Syria acts as a strategic diversion, allowing Israel to evade accountability for its continuous actions in Gaza and the West Bank. This kind of deflection lets Israel act with a sense of impunity, free from the global attention its policies and actions warrant.

By portraying the Syrian conflict as a heroic fight for democracy and freedom, the narrative obscures the underlying geopolitical objectives, which include weakening the resistance to Israeli and allied interests.

This approach risks perpetuating injustice and diminishes the chances for genuine peace and stability in the region.

* Dr Reneva Fourie is a policy analyst specialising in governance, development and security.

** The views in this article do not necessarily represent the views of IOL or Independent Media.

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