The Syrian opposition group, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, which is currently on the brink of capturing Damascus and is supported by Turkey, is classified as a terrorist organization by the U.S. intelligence community. According to the Director of National Intelligence’s “Counter Terrorism” guidance,

“Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) is a coalition of Sunni Islamist insurgent groups based in northern Syria that evolved from Jabhat al-Nusrah, or ‘Nusrah Front,’ al-Qa’ida’s former branch in Syria.”

It does admit that Abu Muhammad al-Jawlani [Jolani], the leader of HTS, split from Al Qaeda in 2016 “due to strategic disagreements.” 

The Syrian opposition’s shift

Once regarded as one of the most militant factions within the Syrian opposition, Mr. al-Jolani and his group have since taken a more practical approach to governance and its relationship with other rebel groups. Jerusalem-based correspondent Raja Abdulrahim wrote,

“Since breaking ties with Al Qaeda, Mr. al-Jolani and his group have tried to gain international legitimacy by eschewing global jihadist ambitions and focusing on organized governance in Syria.”

The primary English-language daily in Lebanon, the Daily Star, clarified,

“HTS has attempted to rebrand itself, calling for calm and stressing the significance of protecting all communities, despite its designation as a terrorist organization by Western nations.”

Jolani also cited Aleppo’s rich cultural past while promising that it will continue to serve as a hub for interethnic harmony. Meanwhile, in an interview with the Times of Israel, an unidentified commander of the Free Syrian Army pleaded with Israel to back the Syrian opposition over Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

“We are willing to be friends with Israel and everyone else in the region. Other than Iran, Hezbollah, and the Assad government, we have no opponents. We greatly benefited from Israel’s actions against Hezbollah in Lebanon. We are now addressing the remaining issues,”

he clarified.

The change in rhetoric

Western policymakers’ desire to believe such claims is understandable. Assad is disgusting, after all, and few people will be saddened by his demise. Additionally, wishful thinking is involved. The idea that an Islamist dictatorship in Syria poses no threat, or that the worst-case scenarios of radicals invading an already vulnerable Jordanian monarchy or Al Qaeda on the Israeli border with Syria are out of the question, can be reassuring to diplomats, scholars, and think tankers. In order to maintain peace and stop retaliation against minority groups, particularly in Aleppo, Jawlani and other Syrian opposition figures feed into these feelings. But while self-deception is widespread, it can also be fatal. It is similar to how U.S. officials welcomed Recep Tayyip Erdoğan when his Justice and Development Party (AKP) stormed to power in Turkey in 2002 that they are reassuring about Jawlani despite his history of extremism.

Past actions vs. present claims

But Erdoğan went out of his way to allay Western worries because his party has a supermajority in Ankara. He reassured them that “our management will clearly prove that we are the guarantors of this [Turkish] secularism.” It was successful. Erdoğan’s promise to embrace Europe was welcomed by the State Department. Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Daniel Fried rejected concerns about the Islamization of Turkey’s educational system, calling the AKP “a kind of Muslim version of a Christian Democratic Party.” Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed Erdoğan’s Turkey, calling it “a Muslim democracy.” President George W. Bush said,

“I appreciate so very much the example your country has set on how to be a Muslim country and at the same time a country that embraces democracy, rule of law, and freedom,”

in front of a group of journalists in Ankara on June 27, 2004.

Western concerns

Ironically, Erdoğan foresaw such an optimistic attitude and aimed to capitalize on it, cynically stating as mayor that “Democracy is like a streetcar.” You get off after riding it until you reach your destination. In retrospect, it is evident how gullible the State Department and the George W. Bush administration were in accepting and embracing Erdoğan. He began establishing contact with Hamas in 2006, giving the terrorist organization legitimacy and granting it a base in Turkey. While his family directly benefited from the sale of Islamic State oil, eight years later he was supporting the Islamic State’s expansion in Syria and Iraq logistically. Today, Erdoğan is in charge of the ethnic cleansing of Syrian Christians while Jews are fleeing Turkey. As Erdoğan cemented power, ideology overshadowed pragmatism, rather than serving as a bridge between Europe and the Middle East and a force for stability as its admirers in Washington previously believed. In all but name, Turkey is now a sponsor of terrorism.