Marc Abear: Now Ahmad al-Sharaa is a terrorist ... now he’s not

To The Daily Sun,

Why did the White House lift the $10 million bounty for the capture of the terrorist Ahmad al-Sharaa? He is the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. He previously went under the name Abu Mohammad al-Golani. We’ve been after him since May 2017. He was wanted for his past work with al-Qaeda and ISIS.

He is credited with the overthrow the Assad regime in Syria. Why is the Biden administration now talking with al-Sharaa? Yes, he heads the Syrian interim government. Perhaps this is consistent principled application of the morality of Biden administration.

Our state department representative met with al-Sharaa and reported he pledged to contain terrorist groups in the territories under his control. The state department reports he expressed a willingness to tolerate the country’s minority populations.

Great. He’s not going to carry out the genocide he was trying to perpetrate ... until some later date ... probably after consolidating power. Our “diplomat” described this terrorist as "pragmatic." Aren’t we glad our state department is taking such a principled position on our behalf with this gentleman?

Al-Sharaa's personal sanction was lifted, yet somehow his organization, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, continues to be designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization ... by the U.S. State Department. We don’t negotiate with terrorists ... right?

The state department did not comment on their representative’s statements ... perhaps it is part of the Biden administration pardon program now in progress.

The EU and the UK, too, have been trying to engage with Syria's provisional authorities. They should probably call President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. He is the puppet master behind the insurgents who deposed Assad. He’s long wanted the Kurds' heads on pikes, like the Turks did with the Armenians a century or so ago.

Merry Christmas.

Marc Abear

Meredith