In late-2024 Syrias long-running civil war took an unexpected turn when opposition group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham launched a quick offensive that led to regime collapse. The attack started small but turned into a major breakthrough when government forces just gave up their posts
The US government which tried to handle Syria through three different presidents since 2011‚ now needs a new plan. Their old approach didnt work: sanctions economic pressure and diplomatic talks all failed to make any real change in Damascus (where Bashar al-Assad stayed in power for way too long)
Abu Mohammed al-Jolani who leads HTS has worked hard to change his groups image even though it still has a terrorist label. His group now controls northwest Syria and tries to:
- protect religious minorities
- work with different groups
- fight against ISIS and al-Qaeda
- run a more open government system
Russia and Iran lost big with Assads fall. Moscow got military bases in Syria; Tehran used it to move weapons around - but now thats all changed. The regime collapse happened partly because Russia was busy with Ukraine and Hezbollah got weaker in recent fights
The Syrian Democratic Forces and Turkish-backed Syrian National Army both moved to grab territory when they saw the regime falling apart. SDF took over areas near Iraq while SNA pushed south from their northern positions; this mix of different groups means the US needs to step in and help make peace between them
Washington should focus on getting Russia out pushing Iran away and helping make peace between Syria and Israel. The new Syrian leaders will need help from neighbors and maybe US support - but first all these different groups need to work together without starting new fights