US intelligence officials met with officials of the new government in Syria and passed secret information. The Syrian government is now controlled by Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization.
The Washington Post reports, “In the chaotic days after the fall of [Bashar] al-Assad, the Biden administration began to engage cautiously with HTS and its leader, Abu Mohammed al-Julani.”
“The intelligence exchange with HTS has occurred in direct encounters between US intelligence officials and representatives of HTS, rather than via third parties.” The Post continues, “[this] has involved exchanges between the two sides, in Syria and a third country. It began roughly two weeks after HTS came to power on Dec. 8.”
In late November, Julani’s HTS began an offensive against the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Assad’s forces were quickly overrun, and Julani seized power in Damascus within weeks.
The development in Syria caused a debate in the Biden administration on whether or not to support Julani and HTS. At the time, the US was offering a $10 million reward for Julani’s capture as he was a wanted terrorist.
The bounty on Julani was rescinded after an official from the Biden administration met with Julani; however, HTS remains on the State Department’s list of terror groups.
HTS grew out of the al-Nusra Front, an organization that Julani formed in 2009 in coordination with al-Qaeda’s central leadership. Juliani is a veteran of the Iraq War, where he fought for al-Qaeda in Iraq against US forces.
Even with this background, the Biden administration elected to try to develop ties with Julani. “It’s the right, prudent and appropriate thing to do, given that there was credible, specific information [about ISIS threats], and coupled with our efforts to cultivate a relationship with these guys,” one former US official told The Post.
The officials who spoke with The Post claimed that the intelligence passed to HTS was information about planned ISIS attacks.
When Julani formed al-Nusra, he did so with the support of ISIS and its then-leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Al-Nusra broke ties with ISIS in 2013 when Baghdadi attempted to bring al-Nusra under his control.
Kyle Anzalone is the opinion editor of Antiwar.com and news editor of the Libertarian Institute. He hosts The Kyle Anzalone Show and is co-host of Conflicts of Interest with Connor Freeman.
Strange bedfellows…
Perfect. Just perfect.
A Clockwork Orange in process, right there.
What’s it going to be then, eh?
Are we supposed to be surprised – at this rather late point – that our government regularly colludes with terrorists?
I realize that this is a forum for truth, but what is the point? Aren't we really the ones sitting in Plato's cave watching the shadows on the wall? No one else gives a shit what their government is doing beyond the people in forums like this one, and they outnumber us by millions to one.
Unless there is a way to propagate the truth of this corrupted system nationally – and in a way that forces people to pay attention and understand all of the implications, this information only serves to raise blood pressure in people who already care.
The overwhelming number of people, not only in the US, but in Europe as well, really don't care about what is not directly relevant to what they need to live their day to day existence.
We're not defeated by a lack of ammunition, we're defeated by the sheer weight of numbers plus the past 5000+ years of warfare as the soup de jure.
I was gonna say Antiwar.Com TV Cable Channel next to FOX, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, and CBS as most US public get their news from… but I know it would be shut down by the Deep State on Day One…!
ALCIADA!!!
Dumbocracy!!!
As if Julani was not aware that the former boss or competitor would be planning against him…!
This wasn't intelligence at all, rather a threat to HTS not to attack Israel in order to continue receiving US support…! Another quid pro quo…!
Doesn't this sort of invalidate the whole Resolution which tossed us into the Middle East in the first place? Hmmm.
Sharing intelligence with the targeted excuse for military interventions. Hmmm.
My what a short memory you have, Grandma!