Results of Israeli bombing of the Syrian Military Headquarters[above], which is surprising because Israel helped the former Al-Qaeda* offshoot to clinch power in Damascus. Israel’s bombing of al-Sharaa’s regime shows its hypocrisy.
On July 2025 Bedouin-Druze Tensions
Replacing a Medical Doctor with a ‘Former’ Terrorist
Sporadic violence continued after the July 20th, 2025 declaration of ceasefire in Syria’s Suwayda region, despite Donald Trump’s rush to take credit for the truce. The recent cycle of violence between communities living in Suwayda for centuries exposes both the adverse effects of foreign intervention and the limitations of the terrorist-turned-president of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa. The security situation in Syria would have been different if it were not for decades-long political, military, and economic interference, by the US and Israel. The entire West turned against the former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, a specialist doctor who previously operated in London, and started fronting a slew of terrorists as potential replacements, among them al-Sharaa.
Al-Sharaa was maneuvered into the presidency last year, but his past makes him a potential strawman for future Israeli-US attacks on Syria. He was born in Saudi Arabia and joined Al-Qaeda* in Iraq, a group that fought a convenient ‘insurgency’ after the US invasion in 2003, and justified Washington’s long-term military presence. Later, he was arrested and imprisoned for five years, alongside others, all of whom emerged as seasoned terrorist fighters exactly as the Syrian civil war started in 2011. Al-Sharaa was still propped up by the West as a replacement for Syria’s al-Assad, despite having questionable academic qualifications or work experience to discharge the functions of a president. He has failed to unify Syria while his former backer, Israel, recently bombed his military.
Like the factions the US interference brought to power in Libya failed to unify the country or develop its economy as Muamar Gaddafi had, Al-Sharaa’s incompetence will continue surfacing as a lesson to Syrians and others with misplaced thoughts that the West’s opportunistic intervention can bring peace or development. Indeed, the Pentagon’s strategist, Thomas Barnett, confessed in April 2008 that Washington was unable to politically stabilize countries it invaded. Despite this knowledge, Washington has continued to destroy other countries, making it a deliberate vandal of progress. Barely a year since Syria’s former government was deposed, al-Sharaa has faced uprisings, for instance Alawites’ revolt in March 2025, and the clash between Bedouin tribes and Druze starting in July 2025. The current leadership cannot deal with such challenges, while its proponents seize any opportunity to further ravage Syrians. Al-Sharaa is hard-pressed to balance between citizens’ legitimate expectations for security, and safeguarding the country against the opportunistic US and Israeli ambitions that he benefited from in the past. A few lessons can be learned.
Lessons for al-Sharaa and Others
The first lesson is that Israel and the US use people’s lives to attain their political goals, notably in how Trump is taking credit for allegedly negotiating a ceasefire for a conflict resulting from Washington’s perennial interference in the region. The hypocrisy in Washington’s creating wars and pretending to mediate should edify Al-Sharaa that his being a proxy in destabilizing and overthrowing the former government was the easy part. Now, he must face the humiliation of meeting the US president and being promised ‘normalization’ before having Damascus bombed by the US proxy, Israel, which further impoverishes Syrians. Trump is out seeking credit at the expense of lives in Suwayda region, other conflicts precipitated by US meddling, and imaginary ones that Trump wishes happened. For instance, the India-Pakistan conflict in May 2025 was triggered by a terrorist attack against India that occurred when the US vice president was in Delhi. Trump claimed credit for resolving it while boasting about ending an Imaginary battle between Serbia and Kosovo, which shows desperation for recognition that can drive him to start a war only to feed into his hero’s syndrome. The case of the 12-day Israel and US war against Iran, which started on June 13th, presents a perfect case of Trump starting a war and still pretending to mediate it.
Another lesson that al-Sharaa can learn is that the US and Israel cannot bestow legitimacy to govern. It is notable how the West smeared elected al-Assad as a ‘dictator’ but supported a terrorist group to secure power and defer elections indefinitely. Al-Sharaa may have marched on Damascus, but that does not mean all Syrians will automatically accept him. Citizens may have been disillusioned after a decade of US bombing and hoarding of food and energy from the north-eastern Syria to the point of accepting their political fate then, but their expectations can change. Syrians can start demanding their rights to basic needs, safety, and development, something that Al-Sharaa and his backers are incapable of availing. For instance, some citizen’s demand for safety can be noted in Alawait’s action in March 2025, to which the new government responded by killing over 1500 citizens, exposing its incompetence. Similarly, the conflict between Bedouin tribes and Druze represents citizens’ distrust of the new government’s ability to protect all. Also, it features Israeli interference in bombing Syria’s military infrastructure, exposing the vulnerability of its former ally and Israel’s duplicity. Israel and US turning against al-Sharaa should remind the latter that he will never be treated as equal by his puppet masters.
The new leadership in Syria should also understand that the support it received from the US and Israel now means nothing. Al-Sharaa was only assisted because he was useful in destroying a functioning government and replacing it with a clueless formation. During the West’s prolonged pressure on the former Syrian government, Israel offered medical assistance to terrorist fighters and evacuated those trapped, but al-Sharaa should know that this facilitation did not mean long-term commitment from Israel. Similarly, the US repeatedly assisted ISIS and Al-Qaeda terrorists it was purporting to fight by bombing the Syrian Military, but the new Syrian leadership should ‘understand its place’ as a pawn in the hands of its former handlers.
Syrians are on Their Own
Washington and Tel Aviv, acting whimsically, can take any aggressive actions against Syrians to advance their parochial interests. Noteworthy, al-Sharaa, who benefited from the US’s whimsicality by having the $10 million bounty on his head waived, may find himself being attacked like his predecessor al Baghdadi. Also, he may experience backlash from his citizens if he fails to meet their needs or if he let the country’s infrastructure continue being ravaged by Israel, the reckless accessory of Washington.
*-banned in Russia
Simon Chege Ndiritu, is a political observer and research analyst from Africa
