Al-Monitor Discovers Syrian Government, One Year After Its Official Ouster
In a fascinating leap into speculative journalism, Al-Monitor (via a 2026 article, per the URL) reports that Syrians are fleeing Kurdish-held territory near Aleppo. The article states, unequivocally, that 'the government is seeking to extend its authority across the country following the ouster of longtime leader Bashar al-Assad a year ago.' This claim is, shall we say, premature. As of 2024,
Bashar al-Assad remains firmly in power as President of Syria (source: BBC News, 'Syrian President Bashar al-Assad', 2024). The media's historical amnesia is usually more subtle than inventing alternate timelines. Here, the framing manages to simultaneously acknowledge a 'government' pursuing its territorial claims while fabricating a fantasy where Assad is gone. Who is this mysterious Syrian
government that 'ousted' Assad but still controls Aleppo? Perhaps the ghost of democracy past. This 'reporting' creates a convenient narrative vacuum, allowing the outlet to avoid the difficult reality of the Syrian conflict's complexities, the role of various actors, and the international interventions (source: Council on Foreign Relations, 'Syria's Civil War: A Decade of Conflict', 2021).
Instead, we get a story about nebulous 'fears' and 'clashes' with a phantom government, all while carefully omitting the persistent geopolitical machinations that continue to destabilize the region.