Rebel fighters swept through Syria in 11 days taking government-controlled territory, province by province until they had taken the Capital Damascus.
The collapse of the al-Assad government on Dec. 8 brought mixed reactions and uncertainty about what a new Syria would look like for its 22.9 million people and the turbulent-filled region.
The speed of the downfall left Mideast watchers astonished, and Syria in a complicated “flux” of moving parts, including the meddling presence of foreign actors like the United States, Türkiye, Israel and other proxies with diverse agendas. The future of Syria hangs in the balance, say analysts and observers.
“I think that it is still way too early to make any determinations,” said Wilmer Leon, political scientist and commentator. “Recent developments in Syria is past prologue,”
He told The Final Call, meaning the current situation is tied directly to the immediate history of Syria’s civil war, starting in 2011. The conflict was wrought with multination meddling, particularly America, aiming to remove Bashar al-Assad from power.
“This is once again, the United States engaging in regime change,” opined Mr. Leon. “As the United States was in Iraq … in Libya … a number of other places where this has happened,” he continued.
“But I use those two as examples, because the United States engages in regime change, creates a power vacuum, and then does not really know how to manage the power vacuum once it has been created,” he expounded.
Questions loom whether the rebels that toppled President Al-Assad is about a “better Syria” or a wider agenda.
On Dec. 9 Israel, while continuing a genocidal war on Palestinians in Gaza, and the Occupied West Bank, including east Jerusalem, sent hundreds of missiles into Damascus and other areas of Syria.
Without resistance, Israeli occupier forces increased their presence in Syria’s Golan Heights effectively expanding its occupation there. In the days-long bombardment, Israel claimed it destroyed 80 percent of Syria’s military capabilities, including naval bases.
However, the Israeli invasion of Syria can be understood in the context of establishing what they call “Eretz Israel” or “Greater Israel,” which includes Palestine, Egypt and Syria and their plan for a “new” Middle East.
Such an agenda was forewarned about early this year by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, the National Representative of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad of the Nation of Islam in his annual Saviours’ Day message entitled, “What Does Allah The Great Mahdi And The Great Messiah Have To Say About The War In The Middle East?” delivered on Feb. 25.
“Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu has a vision of Eretz Israel. Several states over there, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, they intend to annex that to what is called ‘Greater Israel,’” said Minister Farrakhan.
“Do you know about that? That man already has over 400 nuclear bombs sitting in the desert in Dimona, Israel,” Minister Farrakhan continued. “That’s a lot of weapons. And they, now, feel that they are the power in the Middle East, and they are,” he said.
A decade earlier Minister Farrakhan warned the expansion will ultimately fail.
“Eretz Israel” is not for you, present Israelis! It is for us, the true ‘Children of Israel,’ he cautioned. “So Allah is going to use your blood to purify that area of the world for The Messiah to come back and bring back with him The People of God’s Choice, for The Holy Land, Mecca in particular.
Will be The Headquarters of The Mahdi and The Messiah!,” said Minister Farrakhan, during Part 34 of his weekly lecture series called, “The Time and What Must Be Done” in 2013.
In the same broadcast, he discussed Syria’s 2011 “civil war” and “America’s Errant Foreign Policy.”
“This was not a “civil war” in which the people inside Syria were rising against their government, alone—no! They were rising, but they were rising against their government with great help from the outside!”
“So now we learn that fighters from all over the Middle East are now in Syria, armed by America through her proxies in Qatar and the United Emirates, and other states,” he continued, referring to the uprising for social and government reform that morphed into calls for regime change at the time, Minister Farrakhan said, in Part 34 of the series.
In Part 16 of the series, Minister Farrakhan spoke about what retired U.S. Army General Wesley Clark revealed about America’s ultimate objective. General Clark learned of plans to “clean out” the Middle East and take over Muslim regimes.
A decade before the 9/11 terror attacks on America in 2001, Gen. Clark said he was shown a Pentagon memo describing a plan “to take out seven countries in five years, starting with Iraq, and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and then Iran—five years and seven countries.”
“This was being planned to ensure that the control of the riches of that area would always be available to America and her allies,” said Minister Farrakhan.
Citing a 2011 article by researcher and historian, F. William Engdahl, the Minister said the ultimate goal of America is to take the resources of Africa and the Middle East under military control and block economic growth in China and Russia, thus controlling the whole of Eurasia.
According to GlobalEconomy.com, Syria has 2.5 billion barrels of oil in its fields as of 2021, and through 2023 produce 90.84 thousand barrels per day. America maintains 900 troops in Northeastern Syria where 40 percent of Syria’s oil reserves are located. These fields have been a focus for control and conflict by various actors like the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Force and others vying for control.
In remarks on Dec. 8 while lauding Mr. al-Assad’s ouster, U.S. President Joe Biden said the 900 troops are staying, but under the guise of preventing terror groups like ISIL from reemerging in the aftermath of al-Assad’s removal from power and he said that the U.S. had dropped bombs over 75 targets in Syria. The current events may be another play in the wider geopolitical agenda.
“So, it is more than Assad being a “cruel leader” and a “dictator” that caused America to want him out,” Minister Farrakhan said, in words from 2013 that stand true today. Minister Farrakhan and his teacher, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad have warned America about her errant foreign policy for decades.
Others also blamed outside mischief-makers for the rebels that brought Syria to this moment.
“What happened in Syria was mainly planned in the command rooms of America and Israel. We have evidence of this,” said Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, adding, “A neighboring government of Syria was also involved.”
Mr. Khamenei made the remarks in a speech reported by Iranian state media. Although he did not name the “neighboring government,” it had a “clear role and continues to do so,” he said.
Days before Mr. al-Assad’s removal, other countries also blamed foreign interference. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea condemned the aggression by what it called terrorist organizations supported by external forces.
“The recent incident is a product of the vicious plots of hostile forces to ‘demonize’ the legitimate government of Syria from A to Z,” said a statement by North Korea’s Foreign Ministry on Dec 5. The statement said the attacks aimed to “create uneasiness and horror in Syria” to reproduce a scenario like the massacres in Gaza and Lebanon, thus escalating regional turmoil to a catastrophic level.
“We strongly denounce the reckless military moves of terrorists in Syria and the sinister intention of the behind-the-scenes forces conniving at and fostering them,” said the statement.
The rebel groups re-emerged on Nov. 27 and were rooted in the civil war that killed over 306,887 people in 13 years of fighting. That war drew in multiple nations, some backing Mr. al-Assad’s government and others backing the rebels. Middle East watchers called it a complex geopolitical situation. America, Israel and Türkiye, have been deeply involved.
In a foreign ministry statement on the current state of affairs, Iran said Syria’s fate is the sole responsibility of Syrians without foreign imposition.
“In order to achieve this important [issue], it is necessary to end military conflicts … prevent terrorist acts … initiate national dialogue … form an inclusive government that represents all Syrian people,” the ministry said.
Meanwhile, foreign powers and their proxies continue military engagement in Syria. Israel, the United States and Türkiye—through its proxies—have been committing airstrikes in Syria.
President al-Assad and his family were granted political asylum in Russia. For Syrians at home and abroad, there is great uncertainty.
“Syria is at a crossroads—between peace and war, stability and lawlessness, reconstruction or further ruin,” said Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees in a statement on Dec. 9. “There is a remarkable opportunity for Syria to move toward peace and for its people to begin returning home,” he explained.
“But with the situation still uncertain, millions of refugees are carefully assessing how safe it is to do so,” said Mr. Grandi.
