US Welcomes Ex-Al-Qaeda Leader, Ignores Gaza Starvation
Al-Monitor reports Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa, formerly of Al-Qaeda-linked HTS, is White House-bound for landmark talks, fresh off Washington's newly flexible 'terrorist' designation list. This former jihadist, whose group was delisted in July, is the first Syrian leader to visit DC since 1946. (Perhaps the 76-year gap was for 'rebranding opportunities'.) While Washington busies itself
rehabilitating former Al-Qaeda affiliates for geopolitical chess, the US continues to arm Israel as it starves 2 million Palestinians in Gaza—a situation the UN calls a 'genocide in the making.' It appears some 'terrorists' get a presidential handshake while others get congressional appropriations. One might wonder if the prerequisite for White House talks is causing enough regional
destabilization to earn a second chance, rather than, say, adhering to international law.