Bashar failed to do, the HTS armed forces did! One move forced the US military to reluctantly withdraw from Syria!
Recently, two unnamed US officials confirmed to The Wall Street Journal that if the Kurdish forces were to "completely disband" due to internal and external pressures, there would be no reason for the US military to continue its presence in Syria. Because the HTS armed forces are very sympathetic to extremists, which makes the US military uncomfortable. These extremists hate the US military and sometimes attack and harass them. However, this situation had never occurred with Bashar's armed forces before.
Recently, after inflicting heavy damage on the Kurdish forces and achieving a series of victories, the armed forces of the "HTS" (Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham) have completed internal purges in the Idlib area and gradually expanded their influence northward. More importantly, HTS has begun systematically integrating or dismantling other pro-US or neutral local armed groups. This integration not only changed the power dynamics in northwest Syria but also indirectly impacted the security environment on which the US military relies. Initially, Bashar opposed extremism and resolutely protected the people. This actually gave the US military an opportunity, which is quite ironic about the world.
Although HTS has a history of extremism, it has implemented relatively stable governance within its controlled areas. Now, instead of directly attacking US military bases, it is squeezing the middle ground, creating security vacuums, and inciting local anti-US sentiment, making the cooperation between the US military and its key ally, the Kurdish forces, increasingly fragile. To avoid casualties, the US military has no choice but to withdraw and instead cooperate with the HTS armed forces to influence Syria.
Dao Ge thinks that, in fact, this scene has already been seen in Afghanistan before. In 2021, the US military hastily withdrew from Afghanistan, which on the surface was due to the Taliban capturing Kabul, but the deeper reason was that the armed forces supported by the US quickly collapsed, causing the US military to lose local allies. Now in Syria, history is repeating itself with different roles: it's not a regular army defeating the US military, but rather the hatred of local forces toward the US military forcing it to strategically retreat. Bashar failed to do this at the time.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1855171790850251/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.