Syria: The History, the Context, the Dream

Courtesy of Hosein Charbaghi

Syria is free! But why does this matter, and why is it making headlines? While many countries in the region face challenges in understanding the situation, Syria’s unique complexity—shaped by its politics, alliances, and strategic location—sets it apart.

For over 13 years, Syria has been embroiled in a devastating civil war, with numerous factions and foreign powers tearing the country apart. As of November 2024, more than 14 million Syrians have been forced to flee their homes since 2011, with over half of the population displaced. This includes 6.5 million refugees and asylum-seekers and 7.2 million displaced within Syria, including my own family.

To understand how we got here, we must go back to 2011 during the Arab Spring, the wave of protests and demonstrations that began in 2010 across the Middle East and North Africa to challenge authoritarian regimes. When it spread to Syria, peaceful protesters were met with violence by the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. By July 2011, protesters began to fight back, and some Syrian troops defected to join them, forming the Free Syrian Army. This marked the beginning of a full-scale civil war. Assad further complicated matters by releasing extremist prisoners to muddy the opposition and discourage international support for the rebels. In January 2012, al-Qaeda began supporting the rebels. Meanwhile, the Kurds took advantage of the chaos, seceding from Assad’s rule and taking up arms themselves.

Foreign powers quickly became involved. Iran sent cargo flights to support Assad, while Gulf states like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE funded the rebels to counter Iran’s influence. Hezbollah was welcomed by Assad to support his regime, prompting the Gulf states to increase their support for rebel factions through Jordan and Turkey. The situation escalated further in August 2013 when the Assad regime used chemical weapons. This provoked global condemnation, and while President Obama initially proposed military strikes, he later backed down. However, the U.S. began covertly training and arming Syrian rebels through the CIA.

In February 2014, an al-Qaeda affiliate broke away to form the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which turned against the rebels, the U.S., Assad, and the Kurds. The U.S. responded by focusing on fighting ISIS rather than directly opposing Assad. Turkey, meanwhile, bombed the Kurds—despite their opposition to both ISIS and Assad—while refraining from targeting ISIS. In September 2015, Russia intervened on behalf of Assad, ostensibly to combat ISIS but primarily targeting U.S.-backed rebels. Assad’s use of chemical weapons in 2017 prompted the Trump administration to respond with missile strikes. By 2019, ISIS had been largely defeated, and the intensity of the conflict diminished. However, the humanitarian crisis, economic collapse, and displacement of millions remained unresolved.

Since the beginning of 2023, there have been three main militias located throughout Syria, each with their own goals and backed by different nations. The first was the Syrian National Army (SNA), backed by Turkey. They operated like a proxy for Turkey because Turkey wasn’t able to put any of its troops on Syrian soil. The second is the Kurds, who were backed by the USA and helped America in many of its operations throughout the region, most notably capturing ISIS. The final group is known as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an independent group that held the northern city of Idlib as its stronghold. Because of its proximity to Turkey, they would work in cooperation with Turkey and become influenced by them. Due to Turkey’s very religious and secular population, Turkey governs in a unique way compared to its other Muslim nations. Syria is similar in the sense that it has a very big Muslim population but as well as a large minority population. Had HTS taken over three years ago, they would not have tolerated these other groups, and we would have seen a failing government before it even started. 

They then controlled the city of Aleppo, and what they did next was very promising. They wanted to keep everything remaining and operating like normal and not want to change anything. They were very clear about discouraging looting and protecting the Christian minority that had been previously treated unfairly. Naturally, a government doesn’t like to have so many militant groups and will negotiate with them as much as possible to please its members and decrease its influence. To receive a better deal with the government they wanted to control more area before negotiating, so they began to push south to increase its persuasion. After pushing to the city of Homs they met little to no resistance, so they continued to push south until they surprisingly reached Damascus. 

On December 7th, my father received a late-night call from my uncle in Syria. He reported that secret service agents in Damascus had abandoned their posts, and gunfire had given way to an eerie quiet. Earlier reports of HTS’s advances and Assad’s surprise trip to Russia now made sense. Syria had been freed. 

Celebrations erupted across the country, halting operations temporarily. Yet, just as in Idlib, normalcy quickly resumed. Borders reopened, businesses restarted, and everyday life carried on—this time with hope and optimism. The new government calling for a National Syrian meeting to draft a constitution with input from scholars at home and abroad, aiming to create a fair and progressive Syria. This newfound hope has drawn mixed reactions internationally. Egypt fears that Syria’s success could inspire its citizens to challenge President Sisi’s rule. The European Union and the Gulf countries support Syria’s reconstruction, hoping to develop natural gas pipelines that would reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian energy. Meanwhile, countries like the U.S. and Israel benefit from a stable Syria that no longer serves as a breeding ground for extremist groups or a theater for proxy wars.

Regardless of what is to come for the government or Syrians, everyone is hopeful. I dream that the country can rebuild itself, and become a beacon of hope for everyone in the region. With a developed Syria I can bask in the freedom that my grandpa lived in and his grandparent and so forth. I dream of bringing my friends to my childhood home and walking the streets that generations of my family helped to build. I want them to experience my food and culture that I constantly brag about and live not just as a part of Syrian history but as a place of ancient, biblical, and world history.