The new President of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, aka Mohammed al-Jolani, is in New York for what is widely being described as the first visit by a sitting Syrian president to the US in nearly six decades.
But even more significant is another fact: it’s also the first state visit to the US by a leading veteran of Al Qaeda and ISIS.
Just last year, al-Sharra/al-Jolani – the founding leader of Al Qaeda in Syria and a former deputy leader of ISIS -- was on the US terrorism list with a $10 million reward for his arrest. But after leading the overthrow of Syrian president Basher al-Assad, the US has removed that designation and welcomed Jolani’s ruling Al Qaeda offshoot government. After all, as Jake Sullivan put it at the outset of the dirty war in early, 2012, “Al Qaeda is on our side in Syria.”
Because the US is on Al Qaeda’s side in Syria, that also means overlooking atrocities under its founding leader’s watch. Since al-Sharaa/al-Jolani took power, government forces have committed sectarian violence against Syria’s minority groups. In March, hundreds – possibly thousands – of Alawite civilians were massacred in Syria’s coastal regions. In July, hundreds more, mostly Druze civilians, were killed in Syria's Suweida region.
The Grayzone’s Aaron Maté speaks to members of two Syrian minority communities about the ongoing sectarian violence at the hands of a ruling Al Qaeda offshoot that the US and allies helped put in power.
Guests:
Dr. Morhaf Ibrahim, head of the Alawite Association of the United States.
Hibbah Jarmakani, a Druze Syrian-American originally from Suweida province in Syria.
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The new President of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, aka Mohammed al-Jolani, is in New York for what is widely being described as the first visit by a sitting Syrian president to the US in nearly six decades.
But even more significant is another fact: it’s also the first state visit to the US by a leading veteran of Al Qaeda and ISIS.
Just last year, al-Sharra/al-Jolani – the founding leader of Al Qaeda in Syria and a former deputy leader of ISIS -- was on the US terrorism list with a $10 million reward for his arrest. But after leading the overthrow of Syrian president Basher al-Assad, the US has removed that designation and welcomed Jolani’s ruling Al Qaeda offshoot government. After all, as Jake Sullivan put it at the outset of the dirty war in early, 2012, “Al Qaeda is on our side in Syria.”
Because the US is on Al Qaeda’s side in Syria, that also means overlooking atrocities under its founding leader’s watch. Since al-Sharaa/al-Jolani took power, government forces have committed sectarian violence against Syria’s minority groups. In March, hundreds – possibly thousands – of Alawite civilians were massacred in Syria’s coastal regions. In July, hundreds more, mostly Druze civilians, were killed in Syria's Suweida region.
The Grayzone’s Aaron Maté speaks to members of two Syrian minority communities about the ongoing sectarian violence at the hands of a ruling Al Qaeda offshoot that the US and allies helped put in power.
Guests:
Dr. Morhaf Ibrahim, head of the Alawite Association of the United States.
Hibbah Jarmakani, a Druze Syrian-American originally from Suweida province in Syria.
In major shift, Brazil challenges OPCW's Syria cover-up
Pushback with Aaron Mate
26 minutes 4 seconds
2 years ago
In major shift, Brazil challenges OPCW's Syria cover-up
In a geopolitical shift, Brazil has come out in favor of accountability for the OPCW's Syria cover-up scandal.
At a meeting of UN Security Council members on March 23rd, Brazil criticized the OCW's “poor” handling of the issue and rebuked the UK and other states for blocking the testimony of veteran Brazilian diplomat Jose Bustani, the OPCW’s first Director General.
In response to remarks from The Grayzone's Aaron Maté, Ambassador João Genésio de Almeida Filho, the Deputy Permanent Representative of Brazil, said: "You are clear, you are logical, and you come here with data." The Ambassador then asked Maté for suggestions on how to address the OPCW's Douma controversy.
Support Pushback: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate
Links:
Video: "Aaron Mate at UN: OPCW cover-up denies justice to Douma victims"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1BCtPgyxY
Aaron Mate: "Burying key evidence, new OPCW report covers up Douma’s unsolved deaths"
https://thegrayzone.com/2023/03/27/burying-key-evidence-new-opcw-report-covers-up-doumas-unsolved-deaths/
Aaron Mate: "In Douma cover-up, OPCW’s new smoking gun backfires"
https://thegrayzone.com/2023/02/03/opcw-smoking-gun-backfires/
Pushback with Aaron Mate
The new President of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, aka Mohammed al-Jolani, is in New York for what is widely being described as the first visit by a sitting Syrian president to the US in nearly six decades.
But even more significant is another fact: it’s also the first state visit to the US by a leading veteran of Al Qaeda and ISIS.
Just last year, al-Sharra/al-Jolani – the founding leader of Al Qaeda in Syria and a former deputy leader of ISIS -- was on the US terrorism list with a $10 million reward for his arrest. But after leading the overthrow of Syrian president Basher al-Assad, the US has removed that designation and welcomed Jolani’s ruling Al Qaeda offshoot government. After all, as Jake Sullivan put it at the outset of the dirty war in early, 2012, “Al Qaeda is on our side in Syria.”
Because the US is on Al Qaeda’s side in Syria, that also means overlooking atrocities under its founding leader’s watch. Since al-Sharaa/al-Jolani took power, government forces have committed sectarian violence against Syria’s minority groups. In March, hundreds – possibly thousands – of Alawite civilians were massacred in Syria’s coastal regions. In July, hundreds more, mostly Druze civilians, were killed in Syria's Suweida region.
The Grayzone’s Aaron Maté speaks to members of two Syrian minority communities about the ongoing sectarian violence at the hands of a ruling Al Qaeda offshoot that the US and allies helped put in power.
Guests:
Dr. Morhaf Ibrahim, head of the Alawite Association of the United States.
Hibbah Jarmakani, a Druze Syrian-American originally from Suweida province in Syria.
