Antony Blinken: Biden Will ‘Recognize and Support’ a Syrian Government Arising from ‘Inclusive’ Jihadi-Led Process Kevin Dietsch/Getty

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will begin a brief trip to the Middle East on Wednesday with stops in Jordan and Turkey, the State Department announced following remarks from Blinken supporting the creation of a “credible, inclusive, and non-sectarian” government in Syria.

Blinken promised America would “recognize and fully support” a Syrian government that arises from “an inclusive and transparent process” to replace Bashar Assad, currently being led by an al-Qaeda offshoot led by a U.S.-wanted terrorist.

The longtime government of Syria under Iran-backed dictator Assad fell on Saturday as members of the jihadist al-Qaeda offshoot Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) arrived in Damascus, the national capital. HTS, formerly known as the Nusra Front, has long been one of the many factions fighting in the Syrian Civil War that began in 2011 and launched a new campaign to topple the regime in late November that proved rapidly successful.

Following Assad’s decision to flee to Moscow, Russia, this weekend, HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani – now wishing to be referred to by his real name, Ahmed al Sharaa – positioned himself as the leader of a transition process to replace Assad with a government representative of the Arab Sunni majority of Syria.

HTS is a U.S.-designated terrorist organization and America has an outstanding $10 million bounty in place for information leading to the arrest al-Jolani’s (or al Sharaa’s) arrest. Global terrorist organizations such as Hamas and the Taliban have celebrated HTS and its success in ousting Assad this week.

Despite the rise of a jihadist organization in the face of the collapse of the brutal Assad regime, outgoing President Joe Biden has openly celebrated the developments in Syria and taken credit for them. An unnamed “senior administration official” told reporters on Monday that it was “impossible not to place” the fall of Assad “in the context” of decisions Biden made as president. In reality, the United States was not a major player in the events of the past month, as its top ally in Syria, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), has been embroiled in its own war against the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) militia.

Blinken issued a statement on Tuesday insisting that the United States would play no major political role in the future of Syria, but stood by to help whatever government arose from the collapse of the decades-old Assad regime.

“The United States reaffirms its full support for a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political transition,” he wrote. “This transition process should lead to credible, inclusive, and non-sectarian governance that meets international standards of transparency and accountability.”

Blinken went on to urge the leaders of the “transition” to “fully respect the rights of minorities” and encourage “all nations” to support the HTS-led “inclusive and transparent process.” Blinken promised “the United States will recognize and fully support a future Syria government that results from this process.”

Blinken departed for Jordan and Turkey on Wednesday. Jordan shares a large border with Syria, as does Turkey. Turkey is arguably the most heavily involved foreign country in Syria, as it has for years routinely bombed Kurdish positions in the country and continues to support the SNA, formerly the Free Syrian Army (FSA), in an operation to eradicate the U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led SDF in northern Syria. The State Department said that Blinken would use his time in the Middle East to “reiterate the United States’ support for an inclusive, Syrian-led transition to an accountable and representative government,” echoing his statement from Tuesday.

“He will discuss the need for the transition process and new government in Syria to respect the rights of minorities,” the State Department added, “facilitate the flow of humanitarian assistance, prevent Syria from being used as a base of terrorism or posing a threat to its neighbors, and ensure that chemical weapons stockpiles are secured and safely destroyed.”

The announcement of travel did not mention the Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava) directly. The SDF has been a close collaborator with the U.S. military for years and was one of the most important actors in the fight to dismantle the Islamic State “caliphate” in Syria, helping liberate the caliphate “capital” of Raqqa. It is now under siege by Turkish-backed forces, placing two NATO allies on opposing sides of secondary conflict to the war against Assad.

The head of the Pentagon’s Central Command, Commander General Michael “Erik” Kurilla, visited the SDF in northern Syria on Tuesday, meeting with SDF leaders and assuring them the United States would remain committed to “ongoing efforts to prevent ISIS [Islamic State] from exploiting the current situation.”

“There should be no doubt — we will not allow ISIS to reconstitute and take advantage of the current situation in Syria,” Kurilla said following Biden-approved airstrikes allegedly intended to degrade Islamic State capabilities. “All organizations in Syria should know that we will hold them accountable if they partner with or support ISIS in any way.”

The vow to prevent a resurgence of ISIS was offered independently of any commitment to defend the SDF against the SNA, a militia backed by a NATO ally.

Blinken’s oddly positive turn on the promise of a government built under the watchful eye of Sunni jihadists was not the only optimistic remark among Biden officials. On Monday, an unnamed “senior administration official” told reporters that the Biden White House was “very much hopeful” that HTS would keep to its statements that it would not engage in genocidal activity.

“I think the President mentioned today the statements of rebel leaders and what they’re saying, and seeing if the statements are translated into actions on the ground,” the official was quoted as saying. “We’re very much hopeful they will be. But we will be engaging with a broad spectrum of Syrian society, opposition groups, groups on the ground in Syria, exile groups. ”

The official hinted, but did not confirm, that the Biden administration is in “contact” with HTS.

Follow Frances Martel on Facebook and Twitter.

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