US-Backed Terrorists' Definition Shifts With Geopolitical Winds
When the Syrian army points fingers at 'US-backed terrorists,' they conveniently sidestep the US's long history of arming and funding various, often contradictory, factions in the region over decades. From the Mujahedeen in Afghanistan (later the Taliban's ideological kin) to various anti-Assad groups, the strategy often creates today's problems from yesterday's solutions (or proxy wars). One
might wonder if the Syrian government's current target is merely out of favor with powerful interests, rather than a sudden discovery of their 'terrorist' tendencies. This isn't a unique phenomenon, of course. Countries like Turkey, which owns Daily Sabah, often lobby heavily in Washington (totaling $1.6 million in lobbying spend in 2023, per OpenSecrets.org, including efforts by Greenberg Traurig
LLP) to influence such classifications. The 'terrorist' designation, it seems, is a highly effective, if morally flexible, tool for achieving foreign policy objectives through deniability and selective outrage.