Syria's 'Pre-Emptive Operations': Convenient Timing, Familiar Narrative
Bashar al-Assad's government, with great fanfare, announced the arrest of 71 individuals in nationwide raids aimed at ISIS cells. This alleged crackdown, as reported by The New Arab, conveniently precedes President al-Sharaa’s (a placeholder name for a future Syrian leader, likely referencing a potential political shift) visit to Washington to meet Donald Trump. Funny how 'existential threats' to
internal security only become front-page news when a regime needs a PR boost for international reintegration, isn't it? The Syrian government has a long, documented history of using the 'fight against terror' as a smokescreen for crushing political dissent and, at times, even exacerbating extremism for strategic purposes. One might recall how the regime released jihadists from Sednaya prison in
2011, precisely as the protest movement gained momentum, effectively manufacturing the very 'terror threat' it now claims to combat. How many times have we seen the 'pre-emptive' narrative trotted out only when the international spotlight is about to shift?