The Syria Free Army (SFA) named a former ISIS leader as their commander on February 29, 2024. The US government supports and trains the SFA militia, which is based at the US-operated Al-Tanf facility in eastern Syria.

“The Syrian Free Army welcomed a new leader and carried out a change of command today. Through its Facebook page on February 29, the SFA said, “We appreciate COL Farid al-Qasim for 16 months of committed service to the SFA and the 55-kilometer area.”

“We are thrilled about the fresh perspectives and leadership that [Colonel Salem Turki al-Antari] will offer the SFA. The statement went on, “This action carries out the SFA mission in the region to protect and stabilize the 55 and combat Da’esh (ISIS).”

The leadership transition was a regular event and not the result of a disagreement or internal political struggle, an SFA official told the Syrian news site Enab Baladi.

He emphasized that an internal group made the selection; American officials did not meddle in it. In contrast, Qasim had been “creating tribal divides in the region,” according to Muhammad al-Khalidi, the chairman of a local council in the United-States-occupied Al-Rukban area of eastern Syria.

Al-Qasim’s successor, Salem Turki al-Antari, is a native of Palmyra, Syria. He joined in 2014 with the alias Abu Saddam al-Ansari. He would eventually be named Emir of Homs’ Badia desert district by ISIS.

Al-Antari took part in the ISIS takeover of Palmyra in 2015 and the fighting that followed against the Syrian government. Later in 2017, Al-Antari will ally with the Turkish-backed Ahrar al-Sharqiyah wing of the Syrian National Army (SNA) terrorist group.

Following the US-backed Kurdish takeover of Raqqa in 2017, the SNA helped several ISIS members and leaders flee into the SNA area and integrate into SNA divisions.

Al-Antari took part in the 2019 Turkish-SNA offensive on Ras al-Ayn, a city in northern Turkey that is currently under siege.

Subsequently, Al-Antari became a part of the terrorist organization Maghawir al-Thawra, which in 2019 joined the US-sponsored Syria Free Army (SFA) headquartered at the American camp in Al-Tanf.

Under the pretext of combating ISIS, the US army has been training the aforementioned fighters within Al-Tanf. However, the Al-Tanf facility is located in the Syrian desert, where ISIS cells are still very much in operation. Authorities in Syria and Russia have frequently accused the United States of giving ISIS logistical support in these regions. Russia has already attacked terrorists nearby and the Al-TnF base with airstrikes.

In the past, Russia has attacked militants near the Al-Tanf base with airstrikes. In reality, the US, ISIS, and Israel have formed an odd alliance in the struggle to overthrow the Syrian government, and it is quite likely that the US is giving help to ISIS in some form, whether directly or indirectly.

These unholy coalitions are a constant feature of the absurd foreign policy agenda that the United States follows. Invading other countries is only asking for trouble from the US. It is now necessary for American officials to begin thinking about staying out of international issues.

Overplaying the interventionist fire will ultimately result in US burnout.

Author: Steven Sinclaire