After over fifty-three years of sitting on their throne in Damascus, the Assad family’s regime has collapsed in Syria. Bashar al-Assad has fled to Moscow without a word, the rebels are in command of every major city and airport, and prisons have been opened.

The victor of the Syrian Civil War is Abu Mohammad al-Julani, commander of Tahrir al-Sham, Al Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate. Julani’s resume includes being second in command of Al Qaeda in Iraq under Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and second in command what become ISIS under Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

We remain committed to bringing leading AQS figures in HTS to justice. #Syria pic.twitter.com/R8evqffWum

— U.S. Embassy Syria (@USEmbassySyria) May 15, 2017

He earned every penny of the $10 million reward the United States placed on his head.

But western media and the DC pundit class would have us believe that al-Julani is the terrorist who changed his spots. In a new CNN interview, the successful opposition leader said that he’s embraced a new outlook on the world, repeating endlessly how he wants to begin “building institutions” in Syria (one of the elite’s favorite buzzwords).

Equal rights for all, and protections for minorities instead of genocide. Even Al Qaeda has “gone woke,” we’re led to believe!

Syria is full of uncertainty now, including whether it’ll remain a unified country as Turkey and Israel rush to expand their borders. We can pray for the best, including that civilians will be under less threat with Assad gone, but for my part I think Donald Trump had it right in 2013.

Remember, all these ‘freedom fighters’ in Syria want to fly planes into our buildings.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 28, 2013

Either way, the geopolitical ramifications for the region are enormous.

I’m reminded of the story told by Wesley Clark, the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO during the Kosovo War. He recounted in 2007, that weeks after the 9/11 attack he was brough into the bowels of the Pentagon by a concerned general who handed him a piece of paper issued from on high, and was told, “This is a memo that describes how we’re going to take out seven countries in five years, starting with Iraq and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and finishing off [with] Iran.”

That was the neoconservative plan to decapitate the Middle East and maintain permanent, global military empire. It was a plan that was stunted when Iraq turned into a twenty-year quagmire and an unqualified failure.

But in those twenty years, the War Party has never lost sight of its ultimate goal to eliminate Iran. And slowly, each surrounding country has been toppled, left in destructive chaos and anarchy.

Libya and Somalia are long gone. Since the start of the Israel-Hamas War last year, Hezbollah has been neutered as an outside military force, and ousting Assad has decoupled Hezbollah from Iranian resources.

Now, neoconservatives in the coming administration, namely Marco Rubio and Mike Waltz, among others, may see Iran as sufficiently isolated to attempt a full-scale war.

Iran is four-times larger Iraq, with a population of over 90 million, and much greater strength. The United States is already overextended across the world, our military supplies have been depleted because of arming Ukraine, and the American people’s exhaustion with policing the world is equaled by the economic hardship they’re suffering at home with problems like inflation.

A war with Iran could break the back of the United States, whether the Ayatollah’s government survives or not.

It’s a war this country does not need to fight. And I can guarantee it’s a war they want to fight without a vote by the people’s representatives.

That’s why Defend the Guard legislation, supported by people in the administration like Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard, is going to be such a big issue in 2025. Without the National Guard, the backbone of the U.S. Armed Forces, a war prosecuted against Iran becomes a military impossibility. If enough states pass our bill, we can stop this awful conflict before the neocons even start it. 

You can hope that Donald Trump listens to his better angels, and avoids that kind of large-scale military operation. I hope for that as well; but you can also do more than hope. You can take action by supporting the Defend the Guard movement and the veterans who lead it.