The 'New' Syria Meeting Putin, Or Just Business As Usual?
📰 THE STORY: The New Arab reports that Ahmed al-Sharaa, presented as a 'Syrian leader,' will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss military bases, indicating Russia's ongoing strategic interests in Syria. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: The media conveniently omits that the 'new' Syrian leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, previously known as Abu Mohammad al-Jolani,
was the head of Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaeda's Syrian branch, and later Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). This is the very entity the West initially armed and funded under the guise of 'moderate rebels' to destabilize Syria starting in 2011, directly leading to the chaos that allowed Russia to intervene. The U.S. even designated al-Jolani a terrorist in 2013. The media's sanitization of this figure is a
shocking historical revision. Double Standard: Imagine if a leader, previously designated by the U.S. as a terrorist and linked to al-Qaeda, from a resource-rich nation like Venezuela or Bolivia, were to meet with a U.S. adversary. Western media would be in a frenzy, decrying support for terrorism. When it suits the geopolitical agenda for a Western-backed (at various points) former terror leader
to 'normalize' with Russia, the inconvenient past is simply erased. This 'leader' now serves as a useful counterweight to Bashar al-Assad, allowing for continued fragmentation and extraction. Follow the Money: The underlying driver remains control of pipeline routes, strategic Mediterranean access, and the broader 'Great Game' for regional influence. Russia seeks to solidify its warm-water ports,