He overthrew a dictator and swapped military fatigues for suits — Syria's new leader seeks to reassure the U.S.

 

Dec. 20, 2024, 8:46 PM GMT+6

By Chantal Da Silva, Dan De Luce, and Abigail Williams

As U.S. diplomats arrived in Damascus on Friday, Syria’s de facto new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, likely greeted them with a clear message: under his rule, there will be no threat to the West.

Sharaa, who has abandoned his alias of Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, has emphasized this stance in recent meetings with Western diplomats and the media, following the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime by rebel forces, led by his Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group. As his new administration takes over, Sharaa has also called for the United States and other countries to lift sanctions against Syria.

“Now, after all that has happened, sanctions must be lifted because they were targeted at the old regime,” Sharaa, dressed in a smart suit and white shirt, told the BBC earlier this week, abandoning the camouflage military fatigues and turban he once wore as a jihadist leader.

“The victim and the oppressor should not be treated the same,” he added.

He has sought to distance himself from his past as a jihadist leader with connections to both the Islamic State (ISIS) and Al Qaeda.

Adopting a more moderate tone, Sharaa has promised an era of change with a vision of an inclusive Syria, where the country’s various religious and ethnic groups will be represented. However, with a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head and as the leader of a group that is classified as a terrorist organization by Washington and others, Sharaa faces significant challenges in convincing others of his transformation.

“Sharaa has been adopting a more conventional image,” said Joze Pelayo, associate director at the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative, speaking to NBC News. “But I think he needs to back up his words with actions to maintain sustainable recognition and approval.”

Sharaa has also attempted to present HTS as more moderate, arguing in his BBC interview that it should not be regarded as a terrorist group because it does not target civilians or civilian areas. Unlike the Taliban, which banned women from higher education and most public spaces in Afghanistan, Sharaa said he would be far more inclusive, pointing to HTS’ governance in regions like Idlib in northwestern Syria.

In Idlib, he noted that universities had been operating for over eight years and that more than 60% of students were women.

Sharaa also promised to form a Syrian committee of legal experts to draft a new constitution. “They will decide. And any ruler or president will have to follow the law,” he said.

“He’s saying all the things Washington and Europe want to hear in terms of a transition to a government that’s inclusive and reflects the will of all Syrians,” said Dana Stroul, a former senior Defense Department official who served in the Biden administration.

“We don’t know, though, how long that will hold. Will he follow through? If he loses in the elections, will he peacefully step aside for the winner? These are big questions,” Stroul added. She is now a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

The Biden administration has said it is considering whether to remove HTS from its list of terrorist organizations, but this decision will depend on whether Sharaa and his new leadership group can be engaged with.

“We’re watching what they do now, making clear that they want to be inclusive, respect women and minorities, and ensure that Syria isn’t used as a base for terrorism,” said State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller at a Tuesday briefing.

Despite doubts about Sharaa’s transformation, he carved his own path during Syria’s civil war, defying ISIS and Al Qaeda along the way. Born in Syria in 1982, Sharaa was among the foreign fighters who crossed into Iraq to oppose U.S. forces after the 2003 invasion and was detained by the American military, according to The Associated Press.

When Syria’s civil war broke out in 2011, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS, sent Sharaa back to Syria to establish the Al-Nusra Front, a branch of Al Qaeda. When Baghdadi later urged Sharaa to merge Al-Nusra with ISIS, Sharaa refused and instead pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda.

In 2017, Sharaa dissolved Al-Nusra Front to form HTS, which later took control of Idlib and led the recent sweeping rebel takeover of Syria, ousting Assad’s regime.

Sharaa’s leadership in Idlib was largely seen as positive, according to current and former U.S. officials, but it remains unclear how he and his allies would manage the governance of a more diverse country like Syria.

However, the U.S. State Department’s 2023 report on Syria’s human rights practices noted that HTS had reportedly used torture to obtain confessions and executed or forcibly disappeared perceived opponents and their families. HTS also held detainees in secret facilities, including “security prisons,” according to the United Nations Commission of Inquiry for Syria.

Hossam Jazmati, a Syrian researcher, pointed out that Sharaa’s leadership in Idlib faced protests from both hard-line Islamists and moderate Syrian activists, with some accusing HTS of silencing critics through arrests and detentions. This could pose a challenge for Sharaa if opposition arises in Damascus or beyond, particularly as he seeks international support. Jazmati emphasized that gaining international approval is crucial for Sharaa to have his organization removed from terrorism designations.

Pelayo from the Atlantic Council agreed, noting that Sharaa understands the importance of presenting himself as a modern leader to facilitate normalization, ease tensions, and lift sanctions on Syria.

“Over the past two weeks, he’s shown that he can adjust his ideological stance if it serves his political aspirations,” Pelayo added, suggesting that Sharaa likely has significant political ambitions.