UK reviewing HTS proscription because the terrorist label is only for enemies of the empire

It seems our allies can do whatever the hell they like

The governments of the US and UK have announced they are reviewing the designation of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) as a terrorist organisation so we can “deepen our contact” with Syria’s new rulers. For context, the US did not remove Nelson Mandela from the terrorist watch list until 2008.

The British media seems enthusiastic about unbanning HTS because they’re desperate to cheer for terrorists, something that could currently land them 14 years in prison. All of those headlines about how terrible al-Qaida, al-Nusra, and ISIS are, look set to be memory-holed. I suspect it’s a matter of time until al-Jawlani is declared person of the year by Time Magazine.

Labour Party ghoul Pat McFadden (the one they drag out whenever something embarrassing needs to be said) has told the BBC it would be a “relatively swift decision” to remove the proscription of HTS. This is gonna be necessary because British counter-terrorism police have made a habit of arresting anyone who expresses support for proscribed organisations. If you seem remotely sympathetic to Hamas, they will raid your home, but we can’t be doing this to Daily Mail readers, can we?

Former MI6 chief John Sawers said we should reconsider the proscription of HTS because “it would be rather ridiculous, actually, if we’re unable to engage with the new leadership in Syria because of a proscription dating back 12 years.” He says 12 years as though terrorism has an expiration date, but his argument somehow gets even stupider:

“I think Abu Mohammad al-Jawlani, the leader, has made great efforts over the last 10 years to distance himself from those terrorist groups. And certainly, the actions we’ve seen of Tahrir al-Sham over the last two weeks have been those of a liberation movement, not of a terrorist organisation.”

Over the last two weeks? So HTS has spent two weeks fighting Assad, instead of repressing minorities, forcing conversions and slaughtering those who refuse, and they’re okay now? Fucking hell.

The UK prime minister has indicated that we could remove the proscription of HTS as long as al-Jawlani renounces terrorism. Given that the HTS leader has already done this, the decision would now seem to be a formality. I’m left wondering if we’re gonna use this approach towards other crimes. Could a career criminal just renounce armed robbery to have the charges against him dropped? It’s all so very weird.

Fortunately, there seems to be some hesitance to act because the government is aware that if HTS goes all Taliban on us, this could be embarrassing.

Former international development secretary Andrew Mitchell said:

“We must try to ensure that the regime which takes over in Syria is one that is not abusing and murdering their citizens and respects their rights.” He added: “There is no reason yet to be optimistic that al-Jawlani will be a good, human rights-respecting democrat, but we have to do everything we possibly can to encourage that.”

I suspect the British government is testing the waters to see if they can get away with befriending HTS. Make no mistake, whatever decision they make will not be a legal or moral one. The only questions they will be asking is what is the US going to do and can we get away with copying them?

To let you know where the US is: it’s now acting like HTS has nothing to do with ISIS, despite acknowledging its past ties. The US says it’s fighting ISIS in Syria to stop it seizing territory, but it armed ISIS in 2014 to help it conquer Mosul, only for ISIS to carry out a genocide of Yezidis two months later. You can take US claims of fighting terrorism in Syria with a pinch of salt. They, and their allies, are the terrorists.

In places where HTS has taken over, minorities have been horribly repressed and the majority of Christians have been forced to flee. Christian Solidarity International explained:

“HTS has often targeted Christians throughout Syria in violent attacks and kidnappings, repeatedly killing Christian civilians and confiscating their property.”

All of this is probably going to be ignored by the West now in the name of “stability”. Of course, Syria wasn’t allowed stability when Jihadists were pouring in through Turkey in their tens of thousands. Back then, it was important to destabilise Syria in the name of freedom and human rights. Now that our preferred terrorists are in charge, freedom and human rights don’t matter so much. The British government’s definition of “terrorist” is someone who is not on the side of the empire. Mark my words, if Hezbollah had befriended Israel and overthrew Assad, they would be the ones getting de-proscribed. It’s that cynical.

If you are on the side of the empire, you are allowed to commit all of the acts of violence and oppression you like. Just look at how we cosy up to brutal dictators around the world and you will see this is nothing new. Still, to see the empire open their arms for terrorists they’ve been fighting since 2001 is disturbing.

HTS is the new name for al-Nusra, itself a rebrand of al-Qaida with elements of ISIS and other groups absorbed into it. If you’re confused about all of the groups in Syria, don’t worry, even our rulers are confused. There are dozens of warring factions in Syria who seemingly switch allegiances every other week. They merge, they split up, sometimes disappear, and just when people think they’ve disbanded, they come back. One second they’re “moderate rebels” being armed and trained by western troops, the next, they’re chopping off heads and raping women. Well, you will be pleased to hear HTS, the most powerful of these groups is moderate now.

You need only look at the flattering media coverage of “blazer-wearing revolutionary” al-Jawlani to realise we are witnessing the rehabilitation of one of the world’s most wanted terrorists. We’re even seeing the term “moderate Jihad” now. Remember when liberals rehabilitated George Bush jr and we pointed there is no one they wouldn’t rehabilitate if it serves the interests of the empire? Well, here we are…

If you’re struggling to keep up with the West’s reasoning, we couldn’t “deepen our contact” with Assad because he was a bad person who killed civilians, but we can deepen our contact with al-Jawlani because he is a changed person who killed civilians. Not only was al-Jawlani the deputy of an ISIS leader who went on to establish a Syrian branch of al-Qaida, but he was jailed for fighting US troops in Iraq. Don’t worry though, he’s now our friend so we’re not calling him a terrorist anymore.

HTS has been a US asset for years, even though the US still has a $10 million bounty on al-Jawlani’s head. Don’t feel bad about your inability to keep up here. It’s unclear if the US plans to stop starving Syrians with its brutal sanctions and let them have their wheat and oil regions back. The US has previously bragged that it owns one-third of Syria and stops the country from rebuilding after the devastation caused by war. Israel has just taken a huge chunk of Syrian land with its tanks currently 16 miles from Damascus. I’m guessing al-Jawlani will only stay in the good books if he lets them keep the stolen territory.

If HTS lets the empire carve up and loot Syria, we are going to act like their terrorism is fine now. We’re going to forget about all of the homes they’ve confiscated, all of the dissenters they’ve rounded up and locked in dungeons, all of the people they’ve tortured and killed. We’re going to act like they never openly declared their desire to establish an Islamic state in Syria or said they had no room for minorities. We’re going to ignore all of the terrible things they said and believe them when they say they’re nice now.

If someone cut people’s throats, repeatedly told you they were going to cut your throat and then laughed it off and said we’re friends now while holding a knife dripping with blood, you wouldn’t trust them, would you? Well, we’re trusting these terrorists because the knife is not at our throat, it’s at the throat of the minorities in Syria who are terrified. Aren’t you glad Syria has been liberated?

---

Thank you for reading. All of my content will always be freely available, but if you wish to support my work, you can do so at PayPal, Stripe, Ko-fi or Patreon. Likes, shares and comments also help massively.