Turkish-backed Islamic militants led by the al-Qaeda spinoff group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham — a U.S.-designated terrorist organization linked in its formative years to the late leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and whose current leader is a Specially Designated Global Terrorist who fought against American forces in Iraq — have seized the Syrian capital of Damascus following a 10-day shock offensive.

President Bashar al-Assad and his family successfully fled to Russia — a nation that with Iran backed the Assad regime during Syria's 13-year civil war despite its reported use of chemical weapons in Ltamenah and various other war crimes.

President Joe Biden addressed the regime change in a speech Sunday evening, claiming partial responsibility and stating, "Rebel forces have forced Assad to resign his office and flee the country."

"At long last, the Assad regime has fallen," continued Biden. "This regime brutalized and tortured and killed literally hundreds of thousands of innocent Syrians. The fall of the regime is a fundamental act of justice. It is a moment of historic opportunity for the long-suffering people of Syria to build a better future for their proud country. It's also a moment of risk and uncertainty."

Biden indicated further that the U.S. "will work with our partners and the stakeholders in Syria to help them seize an opportunity to manage the risk."

Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, the leader of HTS who has a $10 million State Department bounty on his head, noted in his victory speech in Damascus' Umayyad Mosque that Syria would become "a beacon for the Islamic nation," reported Al Jazeera. "This victory is for all Syrians; they were all part of this victory."

Although HTS generally advocates for the imposition of Sharia law, al-Jolani has suggested there might be relative tolerance, including for non-Muslims. Nevertheless, the fate of the country's beleaguered Christian population — which has been reduced from 1.5 million people, or 10% of the population, to roughly 300,000 over the past decade — is uncertain.

'Our approach has shifted the balance of power in the Middle East.'

Jeff King, president of the persecution watchdog group International Christian Concern, said in a statement to the Christian Post, "The coming days and weeks will be crucial for the fate of [the] Christian community."

The European organization Christian Solidarity noted in a statement that reports from Aleppo indicated that so far, "Christians and religious minorities have been treated well by HTS and its allies. Still, HTS' ideology and history give religious minorities in Aleppo serious reason to doubt these promises."

Christian Solidarity indicated that the three primary religious minorities under threat in Syria are the Alawites, Druzes, and Christians. The first two groups are Muslim sects regarded as heretical by the jihadists that were previously protected by the Syrian government. Christians, while not similarly regarded as heretical, were also brutalized throughout the civil war by HTS terrorists.

"HTS has often targeted Christians throughout Syria in violent attacks and kidnappings, repeatedly killing Christian civilians and confiscating their property. Since 2012, the vast majority of Christians who lived in Aleppo or Idlib during the periods under the jihadists’ authority have fled," said Christian Solidarity.

Biden acknowledged in his speech that "some of the rebel groups that took down Assad have their own grim record of terrorism and human right abuses."

'THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT.'

The Democratic president suggested that the victorious terrorists are, however, "saying the right things now, but as they take on greater responsibility, we will assess not just their words but their actions."

Within hours of U.S. Central Command forces conducting precision airstrikes on a different group of Islamic terrorists in Syria, Biden claimed credit for the demise of the Assad regime, suggesting that the following proved decisive: a "comprehensive sanctions program against [Assad]"; America's continued military presence in the country; support for "Israel's freedom of action against Iranian networks in Syria and against actors aligned with Iran"; and American military action against "Iranian networks."

"Our approach has shifted the balance of power in the Middle East," said Biden. "Through this combination of support from our partners, sanctions, diplomacy, and targeted military force when necessary, we now see new opportunities opening up for the people of Syria and for the entire region."

Biden vowed that the U.S. would do "whatever we can to support [the Syrian people], including through humanitarian relief to help restore Syria after more than a decade of war."

Although with just weeks left in office, Biden has signaled a role for the U.S. in Syria following the regime change, President-elect Donald Trump appears less than enthused about the prospect of getting bogged down.

Ahead of the rebel coalition taking Damascus, Trump noted on Truth Social, "Syria is a mess, but is not our friend, & THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET IT PLAY OUT. DO NOT GET INVOLVED!"

Vice President-elect JD Vance, responding to Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin's celebration of the regime change, tweeted Sunday, "As President Trump said, this is not our fight and we should stay out of it. Aside from that, opinions like the below make me nervous. The last time this guy was celebrating events in Syria we saw the mass slaughter of Christians and a refugee crisis that destabilized Europe."

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