Black Money, Black Flags: How USAID Paved the Way for Syria’s Militant Takeover

By Alex Rubinstein / MintPress News,21 Dec 24

As the designated terrorist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) establishes its proto-government in Idlib, notoriously corrupt NGOs are stepping in to fill the gaps in public services, with some even defecting to work alongside the group.

The United States, which spent two decades and $5.4 trillion overthrowing governments hostile to al-Qaeda, now finds itself in a paradoxical position. Modern al-Qaeda has carved out its own quasi-state in Syria, yet remains on the U.S. list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations. To characterize this as a foreign policy misstep would be reductive; the U.S. has actively facilitated HTS’s conquest of parts of Syria while maintaining its official terrorist designation.

For the past five years, HTS, an al-Qaeda offshoot, has sought to rehabilitate its image. Its leader, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani—a former high-ranking member of both ISIS and al-Qaeda—has led a calculated charm offensive, attempting to rebrand the group from one focused on violence and minority persecution to a more palatable local governance entity.

Since establishing HTS and a proto-government called the Syrian Salvation Government, or SSG, the group’s leader, al-Jolani has expended a good deal of energy talking about topics intended to normalize the idea of a-Qaeda’s statehood; things like ‘institutions,’ and ‘structures.’ This, coupled with al-Jolani’s sudden embrace of Syria’s diverse tapestry of minority groups, has made up the main pillars of the terror group’s rebrand. Al-Jolani himself credits the establishment of quasi-state structures for the group’s sudden success in taking over Syria.

This shift in focus from the elimination of infidels to the establishment of good governance was given the spotlight in an article in the Telegraph entitled ‘How Syria’s ‘diversity-friendly’ jihadists plan on building a state.’ Published five days before President Assad fled the country, the article seemingly understood a total takeover by HTS to be a fait accompli…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Al-Jolani would take much of the remainder of the interview as an opportunity to deliver his stump speech on building inclusivity. And, of course, in the immediate aftermath of HTS’ takeover, gruesome videos of torture and executions aimed at Syria’s Alawite community flooded social media, dispelling the terrorist group’s progressive propaganda. And while it has only been a few years since HTS was carrying out suicide bombings, other groups that helped al-Jolani’s offensive have received next to zero coverage in Western media.

These groups include Ahrar al-Sham, which has been accused of war crimes, kidnappings, torture and potential use of chemical weapons by Amnesty International. Also involved in the offensive was Nour al-Din al-Zenki, a “moderate rebel” group supported by the United States until 2017, when footage emerged of its members gleefully beheading a teenager.

Yet, the horrifying history of these al-Qaeda offshoots has not given much pause to the White House. Just days after Assad’s egress, Joe Biden noted that the designated terrorist groups that had hijacked state power in Syria were “saying the right things.” Additionally, Biden promised more humanitarian and to “engage with all Syrian groups” with the goal of establishing a new government and constitution.

Make no mistake, some of the rebel groups that took down Assad have their own grim record of terrorism and humanit- — human right [sic] abuses. We’ve taken note of statements by the leaders of these rebel groups in recent days. And we’re — they’re saying the right things now, but as they take on greater responsibility, we will assess not just their words, but their actions.”

…………………………………………………………….. Implementing Partners – in Crime

Since the start of the war, USAID and the State Department’s Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) have spent more than $18 billion on “humanitarian assistance” in Syria and more than $1.2 billion in fiscal year 2024 alone, oftentimes employing notoriously corrupt NGO partners to do the dirty work.

In a PBS interview with James Jeffrey, the United States Special Representative for Syria Engagement, Jeffrey admitted that “in 2018, my focus was — at the very center of everything I was doing was Idlib. And in Idlib, he [al-Jolani] was the strongest force.” Thus, USAID was confronted with a problem: how to deliver aid to a region ruled by a group they were legally prohibited from aiding.

………………………………………………………………….. While these instances of fraud, corruption, and supporting terrorist groups by USAID’s NGO partners are shocking, what is perhaps even more shocking is that these same NGOs continue to enjoy support from USAID despite the scandals. In fact, far from cutting these organizations off from future contracts, USAID continues to this day to actively encourage donations to Catholic Relief Services and the International Medical Corps………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. more https://www.mintpressnews.com/black-money-black-flags-how-usaid-paved-the-way-for-syrias-jihadist-takeover/288876/