The collapse of the near 25-year long reign of now former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad was welcomed emphatically by western powers. However, unlike the demanded change via the Arab Spring across West Asia years ago, led by a people’s revolution, the unfolding of power in Damascus happened at the hands of Ahmed al-Sharaa and the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an anti-Assad militia with roots in both Al Qaeda and the Islamic State (ISIS).

Al-Sharaa, who previously went by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, wasted no time in cementing his authority as the Assads fled to Russia. Following this change of power, western officials flocked to Damascus, as al-Sharaa gave up his now former jihadist credentials for a new political reality and looked to re-brand himself as a statesman. The Kalashnikovs gave way to crisp suits and ties, welcoming European foreign ministers and American officials, as the post-9/11 security order led by Washington, D.C. since 2001 fundamentally unravelled. The United States (US) and the West, after waging wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to weed out Al Qaeda and its ilk, were dealing with the same entities who now run countries.

HTS is not the first such........

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