Syria’s Revolution: The US and Israel’s Not So Hidden Role in a Geopolitical Reshuffling
As Syria collapses under calculated chaos, Israel exploits the fragmentation to weaken resistance, expand its borders, and solidify regional dominance.
Competing Truths
What is happening in Syria is a reminder that two things can be true at the same time: Bashar Al Assad was a monstrous dictator who deserves to pay for the horrific crimes he has waged against the Syrian people and we should be celebrating his ouster. Also true, this revolution is a US-led regime change operation, orchestrated with the help of Israel and Türkiye.
So while the political and media establishment in the US celebrate the downfall of Assad’s rule, they are keenly avoiding addressing the US role in empowering Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the so-called rebel group, which happens to be a group the US designates a terrorist organization, that drove out Assad.
Israeli Military Actions
In the past 48 hours, as HTS takes control of Damascus, Israel has launched hundreds of airstrikes, systematically dismantling Syria’s military infrastructure. From warplanes and ballistic missiles to naval fleets and intelligence hubs, Israel’s strikes leave any newly-formalized government in Syria with no means of defense, and that is designed to limit the Syrian people’s ability to self-determination in a post-Assad Syria. Israel also captured Mt. Hermon, Syria’s highest peak (2,814m), bringing Damascus within artillery range at just 40 km away.
Without any provocation, Israel has destroyed Syria's ability to exist as a sovereign state, and the majority of the international community remains largely silent. Although Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq have rightly condemned Israel's ‘dangerous’ land grab in Syria as attacks continue to escalate.
Simultaneously, Israeli troops have invaded Syria from the occupied Golan Heights, seizing more Syrian land in what Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described as a "limited and temporary step" for "security reasons” a move the UN describes as directly violating the 1974 Disengagement Agreement with Syria.
US Hegemonic Hubris
Just hours after Assad fled the country, President Biden declared, “We will help ensure stability in eastern Syria, protecting our personnel against any threats.” Soon after, the U.S. unleashed a barrage of strikes on alleged ISIS positions, targeting over 75 locations with dozens of airstrikes.
For many years, the U.S. has imposed sanctions on Syria which have severely impacted the country’s economy, worsening humanitarian conditions and hindering post-war reconstruction efforts. While intended to pressure the Iranian-backed Assad regime to be toppled, these sanctions disproportionately impacted ordinary Syrians and further destabilized the region (while Assad somehow still managed to amass a fleet of luxury cars).
In addition to the sanctions, the U.S. has run the CIA’s Timber Sycamore program, a covert operation that has been providing support to opposition forces in Syria since the Syrian Civil War began in 2011. Over the years, the U.S. continued to increase weapons funneled to so-called "moderate rebels," like the Al-Nusra Front, now known as HTS, led by Mohammad al-Julani, who happens to be the former deputy commander of ISIS.
This in spite of the fact that Al-Julani remains on the FBI’s most-wanted list with a $10 million bounty for his ties to al-Qaeda. Both Julani and HTS are designated terrorist entities by the UN, EU, US and others, and used to be directly part of both ISIS and Al Qaeda.
Nonetheless, the U.S. is increasingly promoted his group’s takeover of the country with the aim to create a situation wherein Israel can bomb military and civilian infrastructure and steal land with impunity because Iran-backed Assad is gone.
Because the U.S. has funneled money and weapons to Julani as a so-called counterbalance to Assad, Iran, and ISIS, Western media has unsurprisingly fallen in line by subtly rebranding Julani as a “pragmatic” leader who is distancing himself from al-Qaeda’s ideology.
Media Narratives and Hidden Agendas
Now, as Western media hails a "democratic transition," Syria’s inclusive social system is being dismantled. The true winner — Israel, now free to expand its wars and territorial expansion without resistance from a destabilized, Assad-free Syria. What’s celebrated as progress may be, in reality, a tragic further unraveling of a nation that undermines the rights to dignity, freedom and self-determination that Syrians so rightly deserve .
Western media is so busy romanticizing this moment that it has largely ignored the unprecedented scale of bombings across the country and is also glossing over the inconvenient truth: Syria’s collapse is not just a consequence of rebellion, but part of a calculated plan to fracture the region and ensure Israel’s dominance.
A destabilized Damascus not only weakens the Resistance Axis—comprising Syria, Iran, and Hezbollah—but also gives Israel free rein to dominate the region.
Both Biden and Netanyahu are claiming credit for the success of the rebel fighters, which are led by HTS, a group that originated as al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria – this, just weeks after reports surfaced of the U.S. considering easing sanctions and opening dialogue.
HTS’s sudden rise in Damascus proves that this “revolution” was a calculated move supported and coordinated by those invested in keeping Syria weak and unstable. Amid the chaos of Assad’s regime fleeing and tens of thousands of prisoners being released, what’s unfolding is a reshuffling of power, layered with opportunism and geopolitical agendas that clearly serve Israel’s agenda the most.
Videos of summary executions emerging from Syria—highlighted on Al Mayadeen—align with the brutal record of HTS, Jolani, and other U.S.-backed Al-Qaeda factions. Western media will struggle to spin the “Jolani has reformed” narrative so expect silence instead.
The Greater Israel Doctrine
At the center of this chaos is the expansionist doctrine of a Greater Israel, which thrives on fragmented Arab states, creating opportunities for Israel to extend its influence far beyond its borders. A shattered Syria, much like a divided Iraq or struggling Lebanon, feeds directly into this framework and facilitates more Israeli land grabs under the guise of “security buffers.”
In a December 6 interview with the Times of Israel, a commander in the Free Syrian Army, a smaller but influential rebel group, stated if Assad is ousted, the opposition rebel groups would seek full peace with Israel and live as neighbors. While he declined to confirm any contact with Israeli officials, the commander expressed gratitude for Israel’s strikes against Hezbollah and Iranian infrastructure in Syria.
The Greater Israel framework isn’t a conspiracy theory—it’s policy that dates back decades. The 1982 Yinon Plan explicitly outlined Israel’s strategy to dismantle Arab states like Syria into fragmented ethno-sectarian enclaves. Netanyahu endorsed this plan in 2016, while Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon and former IDF Chief Gadi Eisenkot have spoken openly about Syria as the “weak link” in the Resistance Axis.
Eisenkot admitted, “In January 2017, we began attacking the infrastructure the Iranians were building in Syria… We carried out thousands of attacks without taking responsibility and without asking for credit.” This ongoing campaign isn’t just about weakening Assad’s regime—it’s about ensuring no unified Arab state can challenge Israel’s regional supremacy.
Leaked emails from Hillary Clinton in 2015 further confirm this agenda. The U.S. backed regime change in Syria, not for democracy, but to serve Israel’s strategic interests:
“The best way to help Israel deal with Iran’s growing nuclear capability is to help the people of Syria overthrow Bashar Assad.”
The emails reveal that Israel’s greatest fear isn’t a nuclear-armed Iran—it’s the loss of its nuclear monopoly and the empowerment of Iranian allies like Hezbollah, who rely on Syria as a vital link. Cutting this connection isolates Iran and leaves Israel unchallenged.
Destabilization and Expanding Israel’s Occupation
While Syria burns, Gaza bleeds. Just yesterday, Israeli forces killed 37 Palestinian civilians, including children. Today, in a new deadly massacre, at least 30 Palestinians have been killed after Israeli warplanes targeted a building near the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza.
Israel’s ultimate goal isn’t democracy in Syria—it’s manageable chaos which enables occupation both in Palestine, Syria and beyond. A Middle East fractured into dependent zones ensures Israel’s dominance. Syria today is technically under illegal occupation by U.S. forces. Despite opposition from the Syrian government, the Obama administration deployed thousands of troops to northeastern Syria, home to the country’s oil fields.
While the Pentagon officially acknowledges 900 troops in Syria, military sources and reviewed documents suggest the actual number is nearly double, including JSOC's clandestine forces operating independently under numbered task forces.U.S. soldiers and private mercenaries are concentrated in this region. Additionally, the U.S. controls the al-Tanf area, where a military base is located near the borders of Jordan and Iraq.
The U.S. claims its presence in Syria is to fight ISIS, but it was the Syrian army, along with Iraqi resistance, Hezbollah, Iran, and Russia, that effectively defeated ISIS. In reality, the U.S. invasion of Iraq played a central role in creating the conditions that led to ISIS’s rise.
The ultimate goal isn’t just weakening the Resistance Axis—it’s breaking the region into manageable pieces. Israel is building a so-called buffer, neutralizing arms flows, and consolidating control over the chaos. As the international community turns a blind eye, Israel continues its land grabs across Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and now Syria.
Until the settler-colonial project is dismantled, there will be no peace, no justice, and no freedom for the people of this region. Israel’s dismantling of the Syrian army, celebrated by many, risks plunging Syria into one of two grim futures: becoming a failed state or turning to Iran and Russia for survival. In either case, the consequences will haunt the region for decades.
I'm wondering what is the rol of the Kurds right now. Pretty much almost half of Syria is under the Kurd Autonomous Region, something Turkey isn't very happy about, and a very important actor at the negociation table.
Read what I sent into your website, please.