If reports are accurate, and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has taken Damascus while Bashar al-Assad has fled, we are witnessing the unfolding of yet another catastrophic regime change operation. This is not merely an event of regional consequence—it is a moment that could reverberate across the globe, deepening the misery of the Syrian people, crippling the Axis of Resistance against Israel and Western imperialism, and delivering a demoralizing blow to anti-imperialist struggles in the Global South.
The Human Cost of “Freedom”
The first victims of this regime change, as always, will be the Syrian people. For over a decade, they’ve borne the brunt of a brutal proxy war, funded and fueled by external powers intent on dismantling their country. More than 500,000 have been killed, millions displaced, and the infrastructure that once supported a functioning society has been reduced to rubble. If Damascus falls to HTS—a group rooted in al-Qaeda’s ideology—the Syrian people can expect not liberation, but terror. Let us not forget what follows in the wake of regime change. In Iraq, “freedom” brought sectarian bloodshed, foreign occupation, and the rise of ISIS. In Libya, once Africa’s most prosperous nation, NATO’s intervention transformed it into a failed state rife with armed militias and open-air slave markets. Should Syria follow this path, the consequences will be devastating: the splintering of its society into warring fiefdoms, the exploitation of its resources by foreign powers, and the erasure of its sovereignty under the guise of liberation. HTS, far from being a force for democracy or stability, represents a dangerous form of sectarian extremism. Their seizure of power would plunge the nation into a dark age, where the rights of minorities, women, and dissenters are trampled underfoot. For the ordinary Syrian, survival will become a daily struggle, while the West declares victory from afar.
The Axis of Resistance in Jeopardy
The fall of Syria would have profound implications for the broader struggle against imperialism in the Middle East. Syria has long been a linchpin in the Axis of Resistance, standing alongside Iran, Hezbollah, and Palestinian liberation movements in opposition to Israel—a colonial settler state that functions as a proxy for Western imperialism in the region. If HTS consolidates power, Syria will no longer serve as a bastion of resistance. Instead, it will likely become a staging ground for further aggression against Lebanon, Palestine, and Iran. Israel, emboldened by the collapse of a key adversary, will undoubtedly escalate its genocidal policies against Palestinians, intensify its assaults on Hezbollah, and expand its imperialist ambitions in the region. The Axis of Resistance is not just a geopolitical alliance; it is a symbol of defiance against the imperialist world order. A weakened or dismantled Syria would mark a severe setback for this coalition, tilting the balance of power further in favor of the United States and its allies.
A Blow to the Revolutionary Third World
Syria’s potential disintegration is not an isolated event—it is part of a larger pattern of imperialist aggression targeting nations that dare to resist. From Afghanistan to Iraq, Libya to Yemen, and now Syria, the Global South has been systematically destabilized, its people left to pick up the pieces while the imperialist powers profit from chaos. This is not just a tragedy for Syria; it is a warning to all nations that dare to assert their sovereignty. The Syrian conflict, like the destruction of Libya, is a message from the imperialist world: no country that resists can be allowed to thrive. The stakes, therefore, are not just regional but global. If Syria falls, it will embolden the forces of imperialism to double down on their efforts to dismantle other resistant states, from Venezuela to Iran, and beyond.
The Imperialist Playbook
The parallels with Libya are striking. Under the pretense of humanitarian intervention, NATO dismantled a nation that had provided its people with free healthcare, education, and one of the highest standards of living in Africa. Today, Libya is a shattered society, a playground for militias, and a cautionary tale of what regime change really means. Syria, too, has been targeted not for its faults, but for its defiance. The regime change operation cloaked itself in rhetoric about democracy and human rights, but its true aim was always to destroy a nation that refused to bow to imperialist diktats. The rise of HTS to power, if confirmed, would be the final act in this sordid drama—a victory not for Syrians, but for the foreign powers that have long sought to dominate the region.
What Lies Ahead?
If these reports are true, the road ahead for Syria will be fraught with suffering. The people of Syria will face the dual horrors of occupation by extremist forces and exploitation by foreign powers. The Axis of Resistance will have to regroup, finding new ways to counter the emboldened forces of imperialism and their proxies. But all is not lost. History shows us that resistance does not die easily. From Vietnam to Algeria, Afghanistan to Iraq, people have risen time and again to resist the yoke of imperial domination. The Syrian people, too, will not surrender their sovereignty without a fight.
A Moment of Reckoning
The unconfirmed reports of regime change in Syria, if validated, mark a dark chapter not only for the nation itself but for the broader struggle against imperialism. Syria’s fall would be a blow to all who resist the imperialist project—a project that thrives on destruction, chaos, and exploitation. In the words of Lenin, imperialism is not an abstract force; it is the concrete manifestation of a decaying capitalist system seeking to prolong its life through plunder. The Syrian tragedy is a testament to this truth, and a call to arms for all who stand against it. The struggle for Syria is not just the struggle of its people—it is the struggle of all who fight for a just and sovereign world.
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