By Musa OZUGURLU

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US President Donald Trump did not wait for his newly commissioned White House ballroom to be completed before staging his ironic dance with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who formerly went by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Julani when he was an Al-Qaeda leader. 

By posing alongside the self-appointed “head of Syria’s transitional government” inside the Oval Office, Trump once again orchestrated a tableau of deliberate humiliation – “This is men’s fragrance,” said Trump, uncapping a gold-topped bottle of his own cologne and spraying it toward a visibly uncomfortable Julani, the former Al-Qaeda affiliate leader.

“It’s the best fragrance. OK?” He held up a second bottle meant for his wife before quipping, “How many wives do you have? One?” When Julani laughed and replied that he had only one, Trump grinned and slapped him on the arm. “With you guys, I never know,” he said.

For him, this is not novel. But for Syria, this marks the first time a sitting Syrian ‘president’ has been subjected to such indignity on US soil – a far cry from the days when Damascus hosted the likes of Henry Kissinger and Bill Clinton with dignity.

The calculus of American interest

The more pressing question is what Julani’s White House reception says about Washington’s evolving strategic doctrine. Trump, like much of the US political establishment, operates solely on the calculus of interest. He shows open contempt for international law, custom, or legacy.

He has no qualms about collaborating with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who oversaw the genocidal war on Gaza, or shaking hands with Julani, a man until recently designated a terrorist by the US State Department. This scene lays bare the grotesque irony of Washington’s so-called “war on terror.”

As Julani said in a Fox News interview during his PR-laced visit, “I think this is a matter in the past,” referring to his Al-Qaeda and ISIS past. That offhand remark captured the ethos of the visit – history must be erased to accommodate new alignments.

The making of a proxy president

Arab media has variously labeled the visit “historic.” And in one sense, they’re right. It is a harbinger. Under Julani’s leadership, Syria is poised for a new wave of looting, privatization, and foreign pillage disguised as economic reform. With this photo op, Julani has repaid his debt to his American patrons – his prior inclusion on terror lists now conveniently forgotten.

Before examining the implications of this political theater, it’s worth recalling who Julani really is.

Born in 1982 while his father was working in Saudi Arabia, Sharaa returned to Syria in 1989. He later moved to Iraq, where his affiliation with Al-Qaeda began. After the illegal 2003 US invasion, he joined the Islamic State of Iraq and was imprisoned in Camp Bucca in 2005, where he met future ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

In 2011, Baghdadi dispatched him to Syria to establish the Nusra Front. Two years later, Baghdadi announced that the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) would now operate in Syria as well, under the name the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and demanded Julani’s loyalty. Julani refused, opting instead to declare allegiance directly to Al-Qaeda’s “central” leadership.

The rift turned violent. ISIS expelled the Nusra Front from Raqqa, forcing Julani to consolidate power in Idlib. As ISIS proclaimed the “Raqqa Emirate,” Julani countered with the “Idlib Emirate.” The split was definitive.

In 2016, Julani formally broke with Al-Qaeda and renamed his group Jabhat Fath al-Sham, later rebranding as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in 2017. Even as he fought the Syrian state, Julani clashed with fellow extremists like Hurras al-Din, who accused him of deviation.

During this time, Washington began selectively targeting Julani’s rivals – killing ISIS and Hurras al-Din leaders in surgical strikes. Yet the Nusra Front remained untouched. The US was effectively clearing the field for Julani.

Simultaneously, he launched a PR campaign, courting western media outlets and insisting HTS was no longer aligned with Al-Qaeda.

His message was aimed even at Washington, which had once placed a $10-million bounty on his head.

Under the tutelage of Syria’s neighboring states, Julani formed the so-called Salvation Government to experiment with local governance.

The extremist with diplomatic immunity

Unlike other militants, Julani enjoyed sustained backing from certain regional powers. Wounded fighters from the Quneitra front were treated in Israeli hospitals. In Turkiye, government ties to the Nusra Front have long been whispered. Praising the ‘revolution’ Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan himself made remarks defending the group, and Ankara only reluctantly placed HTS on its terror list after UN pressure.

During the campaign to topple former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, Turkiye’s frontline role enabled deep cooperation with the Nusra Front and other extremist groups.

After HTS seized control of Idlib, Julani continued refining his image – trading combat fatigues for suits and ties. But a haircut, trimmed beard, and a rebrand cannot whitewash a blood-soaked legacy.

The group’s first claimed attack came on 6 January 2012, a suicide bombing targeting a military vehicle in the Maydan neighborhood of Damascus. Dozens, including civilians, were killed. In the months that followed, HTS conducted over 70 such bombings, murdering hundreds of Syrians. Even elementary schools were not spared.

Dozens of factions emerged during the war and eventually faded. HTS endured, enjoying protection and strategic patience. It was as if someone were waiting for the right moment to sanitize and reintroduce them.

Julani’s utility to Washington and Tel Aviv

So why Julani?

The first reason is his sect. The Axis of Resistance, led primarily by Shia movements, has suffered strategic setbacks. For Washington and its Persian Gulf allies, assembling a “Sunni coalition” requires a compliant Sunni Syria. Julani, with his Salafi pedigree and deep enmity toward Damascus, is their best available asset.

Julani’s claim that HTS is not like the Abraham Accords signatory states because of the “Golan issue” is farcical. Israeli tanks operate freely just outside Damascus. Yet HTS has never targeted the occupation forces. His war is against Palestinian factions.

That Julani has not lifted a finger against Israeli troops inside Syria, while waging war on Palestinian resistance groups, says everything. His usefulness to Tel Aviv is obvious.

The US plan to establish a presence at an air base near Damascus makes the Golan issue even more irrelevant.

Colonial continuity in a tailored suit

So why did Trump sneak Julani in through the back door? As The Telegraph points out:

“There were no flags, guard of honor, or presidential handshake at the door. Instead, his car was spotted at a basement entrance on West Executive Drive, used by national security officials during a crisis or members of Congress arriving for secret talks.”

This was because even Trump understands the scandal this would provoke. Hosting a man who was, until recently, a US-designated terrorist with a $10-million bounty risks backlash. But Trump is less hypocritical than his European peers. He doesn’t bother with euphemisms. “Let bygones be bygones,” is his diplomatic doctrine.

Julani likely never dreamed he’d be received in the White House. But Trump has now granted him the title of “most rapidly rehabilitated terrorist in history.”

This isn’t random. Trump and Netanyahu are racing to roll out their new regional order. While Israel prepares to escalate in the occupied West Bank, its immediate goal is to pacify Gaza and secure the Syrian front.

Julani is the man for the job. He’s never attacked Israeli troops inside Syria. He’s launched operations against Palestinian factions. Al-Qaeda remnants in Lebanon have pledged loyalty to him and stand ready to wage sectarian war against the Alawite and Shia communities.

To underscore this alliance, Trump suspended the Caesar Act sanctions on Syria for 180 days, having already lifted sanctions on Julani and associates.

Trump doesn’t give favors for free. In addition to normalization with Israel, what else does he want from Julani? One possibility is reviving the eight-point US–SDF integration plan. But Turkiye, HTS, and Washington each have their own red lines. Achieving consensus will be difficult.

Another area where Julani may offer concessions is the economy. Talks are underway with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. The Syrian people – already battered by war and sanctions – will soon face privatization of public assets and generational debt.

That these deals are being carved atop Syria’s ruins only deepens the wound.

In their lust to overthrow Assad, Washington and its regional allies backed monsters. Now, they dress them in suits and repackage them for postwar governance. But Syria has not been subdued yet. This final phase aims to bind its people for decades to come.

He doesn’t represent Syria – only its enemies

Julani is offering up Syria’s future to institutions like the IMF and World Bank – entities that have never set foot in the country.

In doing so, who does he represent? The revolutionary legacy of Sheikh Saleh al-Ali? Sultan Pasha al-Atrash? Fares al-Khoury, who once told the French to their faces that Syria would never bow to colonial rule? The poet Nizar Qabbani? Khaled al-Asaad, (“Mister Palmyra”) the archaeologist decapitated by ISIS? The soldiers of the October War? The martyrs hanged by the Ottomans in Marjeh Square?

None of them. Julani represents only the mercenary factions that sought to erase Syria from memory. He is now the most useful of their ilk – a Salafist extremist turned statesman, if only in costume.

Syria has endured presidents, coups, elections, and foreign conspiracies. But never before has a leader been air-dropped from abroad.

Time will tell how long Julani can maintain this masquerade.

Original article:  thecradle.co