The United States is supporting an avowed Islamist government in Syria, with little thought to the likely eventual consequences.
Two American soldiers and one civilian interpreter were killed in Syria last week after they were ambushed by ISIS fighters. An additional three US servicemembers were injured in the attack. In response, the United States military has been flying warplanes near Palmyra, where the incident occurred, in a clear show of force.
Many Americans might be surprised by this turn of events. After all, it was only a few short weeks ago that President Ahmed al-Shara, the current leader of Syria—and a former jihadist known then as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani—was welcomed by President Donald Trump at the White House as a new friend and ally. But the elements that killed the three Americans in Syria were also affiliated with the Islamist groups that seized control over Syria last year. These groups have received copious support from the United States and Turkey throughout Syria’s 12-year civil war. They were given that support with the implicit understanding that the kinds of attacks that the Americans in Syria were just subjected to would not occur.
So, what gives?
Turkey Is Empowering Jihadists in Syria
As for the level of support that the Islamist government of Syria has received, it’s important to understand that NATO member, Turkey, has plied the Syrian Islamists with an incredible level of weapons, funds, and training.
Among the primary systems that Ankara will be giving the Shara government are generous numbers of drones, armored cars, artillery, and air defense systems, according to a report in the Jerusalem Post from the end of October. Ankara is supposedly doing this as repayment for Sharaa’s regime allowing Turkish military forces to attack Kurdish militant groups in Syria. These Kurdish groups, by the way, are largely supported by the United States. In essence, Turkey is striking US allies on the ground in Syria—and they’re bribing the regime in Damascus as thanks for declining to intervene. In turn, Damascus has promised to only use the Turkish military equipment along its northern border to avoid aggravating the already worried Israelis to Syria’s west.
Syria has remained in a state of relative peace since Shara’s ascension to power in December 2024. But there have been two major episodes of violence this year—first in March, in which an abortive Alawite (Shia) uprising in western Syria led Shara’s troops to kill hundreds of suspected dissidents, and later in July, when violence erupted between government forces and local ethnic Druze in Syria’s southern Suwayda region. Since then, Suwayda has been governed by the Druze as a de facto breakaway region, with Israel’s support.
The Shara government has condemned the actions of the Druze. But their desire to have an independent government is understandable, given the circumstances. A certain fraction of Shara’s adherents have already been shown to harbor genocidal intent towards the Druze, as well as Alawites and Christians, since taking power last December.
Why is Washington Helping Shara in Syria?
In the wake of the collapse of Bashar al-Assad and his Syrian Arab Army, the Israeli military did its best to level the military bases and capabilities of the Syrian military, knowing that Shara’s forces would eventually take them over. So the Israelis tried to deprive the jihadists in Syria of access to Assad’s advanced Russian-made weapons, reasoning that those might eventually be turned against them.
Now, Turkey is moving in to close the gap—giving Shara and his Islamist partners access to advanced weapons and platforms that they can use against Syria’s minorities.
It is a symptom of how badly the American policies in Syria have been for decades. Washington went out of its way to systematically dismantle the regime of Bashar al-Assad, an Alawite who was secular in his beliefs and application of power. Assad’s fall is no tragedy, but in his place are the same kinds of people who attacked America on 9/11 and triggered the Global War on Terrorism in the first place.
Turkey is giddily plying these Islamists with weapons to further exert control over Syria’s dispossessed minority groups, who increasingly feel the totalitarian squeeze of a sophisticated Islamist government in Damascus. The question Washington should be asking is whether those Americans murdered recently in an ISIS ambush were killed by weapons supplied from the Turkish military.
Grave mistakes are being made in Syria today by US policymakers, who assume that they can make-nice with a band of dedicated jihadists. Three Americans being killed is just the beginning. A bigger problem is the fact that Turkey is intent on empowering the al-Qaeda types who have taken over Syria.
About the Author: Brandon J. Weichert
Brandon J. Weichert is a senior national security editor at The National Interest. Recently, Weichert became the host of The National Security Hour on America Outloud News and iHeartRadio, where he discusses national security policy every Wednesday at 8pm Eastern. Weichert hosts a companion book talk series on Rumble entitled “National Security Talk.” He is also a contributor at Popular Mechanics and has consulted regularly with various government institutions and private organizations on geopolitical issues. Weichert’s writings have appeared in multiple publications, including The Washington Times, National Review, The American Spectator, MSN, and the Asia Times. His books include Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His newest book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine is available for purchase wherever books are sold. He can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.
Image: Shutterstock / Mohammad Bash.
