US hosts Syria's ruling fmr. Al Qaeda leader amid sectarian violence at home

About this episode

The episode discusses the implications of the US hosting Syria's ruling former Al Qaeda leader amid ongoing sectarian violence in Syria.

The new President of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, aka Mohammed al-Jolani, is in New York for what is widely being described as the first visit by a sitting Syrian president to the US in nearly six decades. But even more significant is another fact: it’s also the first state visit to the US by a leading veteran of Al Qaeda and ISIS. Just last year, al-Sharra/al-Jolani – the founding leader of Al Qaeda in Syria and a former deputy leader of ISIS -- was on the US terrorism list with a $10 million reward for his arrest. But after leading the overthrow of Syrian president Basher al-Assad, the US has removed that designation and welcomed Jolani’s ruling Al Qaeda offshoot government. After all, as Jake Sullivan put it at the outset of the dirty war in early, 2012, “Al Qaeda is on our side in Syria.” Because the US is on Al Qaeda’s side in Syria, that also means overlooking atrocities under its founding leader’s watch. Since al-Sharaa/al-Jolani took power, government forces have committed sectarian violence against Syria’s minority groups. In March, hundreds – possibly thousands – of Alawite civilians were massacred in Syria’s coastal regions. In July, hundreds more, mostly Druze civilians…

People in this episode

Host: Aaron Maté

Guest: Dr. Morhaf Ibrahim

Topics covered

• Syria
• sectarian violence
• Al Qaeda
• US foreign policy
• terrorism
• minority rights

Keywords

• Syria
• Al Qaeda
• sectarian violence
• US foreign policy
• terrorism
• minority groups
• Ahmed al-Sharaa
• Mohammed al-Jolani

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Al Qaeda, ISIS

Places: Syria, New York, Suweida, coastal regions

More episodes of Pushback with Aaron Mate

• Hamas negotiator on Israel's ceasefire violations and new barriers to Palestinian freedom · December 13, 2025 · 49 min
• French monitor: Ukraine, NATO provoked Russia in Donbas war · August 18, 2025 · 1h 35m
• Ordered to prevent genocide - The Grayzone live · January 27, 2024 · 1h 58m
• Norman Finkelstein on Gaza - live in NYC · November 11, 2023 · 1h 19m
• Report for European Parliament challenges OPCW’s Syria cover-up · September 19, 2023 · 1h 4m
• John Mearsheimer: Ukraine war is a long-term danger · July 30, 2023 · 1h 2m