US Welcomes Old 'Terrorist' Leader, Citing 'New' Face. Again.
Newsweek trumpets Donald Trump welcoming Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, rebranding him as a 'new leader' and signaling lifted sanctions. This convenient amnesia overlooks the US State Department's designation of al-Jolani as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist since 2013, with a $10 million bounty on his head (Source: US Treasury Department, 2013). The same US officials who
demonized HTS—al-Sharaa's group—for years, now pivot to pragmatism, seemingly forgetting the carnage they fueled across Syria for those same 'terrorists' and 'rebels.' One might wonder if the efficacy of a terrorist designation is inversely proportional to its current geopolitical utility. This isn't diplomacy; it's a game of musical chairs where yesterday's 'freedom fighter' or 'tyrant' is
today's necessary evil, particularly when it serves to counter other, more pressing regional interests. The 'war on terror,' it seems, has an extremely flexible definition depending on who's in the White House and what pipeline needs protection.