American Diplomat To Meet With Al-Qaeda Affiliated Al-Julani
A top American diplomat in the Middle East is traveling to Damascus to meet with Mohammad Abu al-Julani. The trip is a sign that the US may lift sanctions on the al-Qaeda-affiliated rebel group that deposed former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.
The Financial Times reports that President Joe Biden has deployed Barbara A. Leaf, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, to Syria to meet with Julani. Julani, the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has recently said he hopes Western countries will be willing to lift sanctions on Syria and remove HTS from the foreign terrorist organizations list.
British diplomats met with Julani earlier in the week. The meetings come as Julani continues to have a $10 million bounty from the State Department for his capture.
Following Assad’s ouster, Biden heralded Assad’s fall and Julani’s rise as a “fundamental act of justice.” Politico explained that a furious debate broke out in the White House on the issue of removing HTS’s terrorism designation.
Julani, who fought for Al-Qaeda in Iraq during the Iraq War, has attempted to soften his image in recent years by giving friendly interviews to Western journalists, often appearing in a suit and with a trimmed beard to obscure his jihadist ideology.
In one of his first addresses to the Syrian people, he declared the institution of Sharia law, according to Israel National News. He said that the morality police should enforce Islamic law through education rather than force. Julani noted violence was still an option, saying, “The jihad is obligatory for this reason.”
🔗SOURCE ➡️ Libertarian Institute
Related: 12/17 – UN Envoy Meets HTS Leader, Calls For ‘Credible Political Transition’ In Syria
12/15 – Blinken Confirms The US Is In Direct Contact With Al-Qaeda-Linked HTS
12/14- HTS Officials Order Palestinian Resistance Factions To Disarm, Close Bases In Syria: Report
12/13 – US Lawmakers Urge White House To Enact ‘Syria Sanctions Relief’: Report
12/13 – ‘You Have Nothing To Say?’: HTS Tightlipped On Israeli Airstrikes, Occupation Of Syria
12/3 – US Lawmakers Urge White House To Enact ‘Syria Sanctions Relief’: Report
12/12 – Israel Says It Launched 480 Strikes In Syria Since Fall Of Assad
12/12 – Qatar To Reopen Embassy In Syria, Looking To ‘Strengthen Ties’ With HTS-Led Regime
12/11 – US Proxies In Syria ‘Plea’ With Israel For Help After HTS-Led Extremists Attack ISIS Prisons
12/10 – US, UK Consider Removing HTS From Terror Blacklist To ‘Deepen Contact’ With Al-Qaeda Offshoot
“US officials are in contact with all the groups involved in fighting in Syria, including the main group that ousted Assad, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which was once affiliated with Al-Qaeda and remains on a US terrorist list,” the newspaper wrote.
A US official told The Post that the US government has not ruled out removing the terror designation from HTS to enable deeper US contact and cooperation with the group.
12/10 – NETANYAHU SAYS GOLAN HEIGHTS WILL REMAIN PART OF ISRAEL FOR ‘ETERNITY’
12/10 – ⚠️ Graphic – MORE Videos of Syrian Extremists [Some Wearing ISIS Patches] Perpetrating Field Executions on Former SAA Officers, Alawite Citizens, Supporters of Assad
12/8 – Biden Says Fall Of Assad Is A ‘Fundamental Act Of Justice’
12/8 – President Biden Announces U.S. Involvement In Syria Rebellion…
12/2 – Reuters Exclusive: US, UAE Discussed Lifting Assad Sanctions in Exchange for Break With Iran, Sources Say
12/1 – Al-Qaeda Attack On Aleppo Serves ‘The Israeli Occupation Entity’: Syrian FM
10/28 One Month Before Aleppo Assault – Israeli Minister Threatens Bashar Al-Assad: ‘You Are In Danger’
This article originally appeared on Libertarian Institute
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