It is quite obvious, seeing what is happening in Syria, that Turkey (alongside its allies) is behind the wave of rebel violence. This is not entirely the rebels conquering land, but ultimately Turkish expansionism with the Americans supporting this revival of Turkish power in Syria. The main rebel group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), is a proxy of Turkey, and what has not been widely reported, is that years before this wave of rebel expansion, HTS was planning on creating government councils within Syria that would have been under the power of Turkey. In 2021, the Middle East Forum reported:
“Meanwhile, the so-called Salvation Government, led by al-Qaeda’s formal affiliate in Syria, Hay’at Tahrir ash-Sha’m (the Levant Liberation Committee), is reportedly planning to create a civil registry department and local councils linked to Turkey and issue new ID cards in areas under its control in Idlib and its countryside.”
The fact that HTS is taking territory, means that this is Turkey using a proxy to expand itself in Syria. Since 2016, Turkey has had a military presence within northern Syria, in the name of protecting Syrian Turkmen and fighting Kurdish nationalists (YPG). In all of the Syrian territory which Turkey controls, Turkey has complete control over education, business and currency. The Turkish lira must be used in transactions, businesses must be registered under the Ankara government and Turkey controls the agriculture. Now that HTS is taking over territory that is under the
Syrian government in northern Syria, it shows that this is Turkish expansionism done through proxy.
It is obvious that this is a NATO attack on Syria, and this is made clear by the fact that the Ukrainians have been training anti-Assad rebels. Dr. Hayyan Suleiman, an expert on Syrian affairs from Damascus, Dr. Hayyan Suleiman, an expert on Syrian affairs from Damascus, confirmed that “there is strong evidence of the presence of Ukrainian drones being used in Syria.” He further stated: “there are international accusations of the presence of Ukrainian officers on the battlefronts against the Syrian army, which proves Ukraine’s direct support for terrorist organizations in Syria.” Assad’s government, alongside its Russian ally, have been hitting the rebels, as we read in RT:
Assad has vowed to “eliminate” the jihadists currently rampaging through central Syria, and to punish their “sponsors and supporters.” Russian and Syrian warplanes have carried out near-constant airstrikes against HTS positions since the terrorist offensive began last week, reportedly killing dozens of militants north of Homs on Saturday, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency, which claimed that 2,500 jihadists have been killed since the beginning of December.
Trump gave the green light for Turkey to enter Syria during his first term. Now he is saying: “Syria is a mess, but is not our friend, & THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET IT PLAY OUT. DO NOT GET INVOLVED!” This is yet another sign from the US that is basically saying: ‘Turkey, you take care of it.’
Trump will enter office with a Turkey — a major NATO member — that that has a military position within Syria, giving Trump the opportunity to tell Turkey to deal with Syria. The Turkish backed rebels took Tel Rifaat, and defeated the US backed Kurdish SDF who were controlling Tel Rifaat. Turkey wants to put pressure on the US to withdraw from Syria by hitting its Kurdish ally. Trump wants to withdraw from Syria, and RFK Jr. made it clear that this is in the agenda of the president-elect. If the US leaves, Islamic fanaticism will have a major resurgence in Syria, as ISIS has been seeing a revival since Iranian Revolutionary Guard backed troops withdrew as a response to Israel’s attacks on both Iran and Hezbollah. As we read in Foreign Policy:
Such a withdrawal would likely trigger another resurgence of Islamic State, which Syria expert Charles Lister reports has tripled its rate of attacks across the country since 2023. The group’s resurgence was largely made possible due to the vacuum created both by the retreat of IRGC-backed forces and the withdrawal of several thousand Russian mercenaries and troops following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and the attempted Wagner Group mutiny in Rostov-on-Don in June 2023.
If the Kurdish SDF pulls back, this will help the ISIS resurgence. Is Trump going to fight for the SDF against Turkey’s Islamist proxies? This is not going to happen as NATO is not going to fight itself. Trump will give the green light to Turkey to expand in Syria.
Brace yourselves to see more support for Turkish expansionism under the Trump administration.