Opinion
US Hand In Preparing Syrian Rebel Groups To Help Ouster Bashar al-Assad. How US Plays Puppet Master In Toppling Governments Worldwide. Why Can’t The US Mind Its Own Business?
The US meddling in foreign governments? Not exactly breaking news. If you’re even vaguely familiar with global politics, you know Uncle Sam has a long history of orchestrating regime changes.
Need a starting point? Check out Stephen Kinzer’s book – Overthrow: America’s Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq, or that Washington Post analysis from 2016, which found the US tried to change other countries’ governments 72 times during the Cold War.
The latest chapter in this playbook comes from Syria, where US-trained fighters claim they were prepped for the offensive that ousted Bashar al-Assad. Fighters from the Revolutionary Commando Army (RCA)—a group trained by British and American forces and initially aligned against ISIS—say they got the green light from US Special Forces. “This is your moment,” they were reportedly told in a briefing before Assad’s regime fell.
According to RCA commander Capt. Bashar al-Mashadani, they were instructed to scale up their forces and be ready for an attack that could “change everything.” But here’s the fun part – they weren’t told when, where, or how. “They just told us to be ready,” Mashadani shared.
This isn’t just speculation. The RCA revealed it had been quietly building its ranks with smaller units ahead of the offensive, under direct orders from the US. By the time the main rebel force made its lightning move south toward Damascus, the RCA had advanced from the US-controlled Al-Tanf airbase, eventually occupying about a fifth of Syria.
But why the big push? According to senior RCA officers, US commanders ordered the advance to prevent a potential resurgence of ISIS. If Assad’s regime fell, they didn’t want ISIS slipping back into the power vacuum. This also shows Washington had precise intel on the offensive led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which ultimately toppled Assad on December 8.
Key targets in the US-backed operation included Palmyra, famous for its Greco-Roman ruins. The ancient town had been a battleground, occupied by ISIS from 2015 to 2017 and heavily defended by Russia, Iran-backed militias, and Hezbollah. RCA fighters who captured the Russian-controlled airbase near Palmyra last week revealed they’d been told to prepare for Assad’s fall weeks before the attack began.
How the US Trained and Backed Rebel Forces
Capt. Bashar al-Mashadani’s journey is one of shifting allegiances and evolving missions. Until just a month ago, he was the second-in-command of the Abu Khatab brigade, a modest force of 150 men created by US Special Forces and trained by their British counterparts in Jordan. Their mission? Hunt down ISIS fighters near Deir ez-Zor, an eastern Syrian city.
At the time, these Sunni desert units operated independently from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which control much of Syria’s northeast. But things took a sharp turn in October when US officers at the Al-Tanf base decided to bring the Abu Khatab brigade and similar units under the umbrella of the Revolutionary Commando Army (RCA).
This move swelled the RCA’s numbers from 800 to as many as 3,000 fighters, according to Capt. Mashadani. Each fighter, still armed and funded by the US, earned a salary of $400 a month—an amount nearly 12 times what soldiers in the now-defunct Syrian army used to make.
When the offensive began, RCA forces spread across the eastern desert, securing vital roads and teaming up with a rebel faction in Dera’a, a southern city. This faction reached Damascus before Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led by Syria’s interim leader Mohammed al-Jolani. The coordination between RCA and HTS forces was reportedly managed by American officials at Al-Tanf.
Syria’s 13-year civil war has created a chaotic patchwork of militias and alliances, most of them backed by foreign powers. This has led to a string of ironies. For example, HTS was once al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria before it broke away in 2017. Yet now, it seems the US has indirectly aligned with HTS, while also supporting rebel factions that sometimes find themselves fighting each other in other parts of the country.
Turkey adds another set of problems. While opposing US-backed Kurdish forces in Syria, Turkey and the US shared a common goal: tackling the ISIS threat. Recent days have seen the US launching airstrikes on ISIS positions, even as Turkey-backed Syrian factions attacked America’s Kurdish allies.
Palmyra, a town famous for its Greco-Roman ruins, sits at the center of this chaotic battlefield. Largely destroyed during a Russian-led campaign in 2017, it remains a shadow of its former self, with ISIS fighters still controlling key routes to Damascus.
Abdulrazzaq Abu Khatib, a commander in the Turkey-backed Falcons of the Levant Brigade, which now controls central Palmyra, described the situation as grim. The Falcons led the push to capture the town, facing casualties not only from clashes with Hezbollah but also from booby traps left by retreating Russian forces.
As Palmyra slowly stabilizes, the next offensive against ISIS is expected to begin once the area is fully secured. But in Syria’s tangled history of alliances and rivalries, nothing is ever straightforward.
How the US Plays Puppet Master in Toppling Governments Worldwide
The United States has a long, storied history of meddling in other countries’ affairs, often leaving a trail of chaos and shattered lives in its wake. And yet, whenever another nation is even suspected of interfering in US matters, Washington throws a fit of righteous indignation.
The hypocrisy? Absolutely stunning.
For over a century, the US has justified its military and covert interventions as a way to safeguard its “strategic and business interests.” But peel back the layers, and it’s clear these actions often boil down to one thing: power.
Let’s start with the basics.
America’s habit of interfering in governments began on its own soil with the displacement of sovereign tribal nations. Then came the 1890s, a time when the US expanded its imperialist ambitions overseas.
One of the first big moves? Overthrowing the Hawaiian Kingdom and annexing its islands. This was all part of the Manifest Destiny story—the belief that the US was divinely ordained to expand its influence.
By the early 20th century, the Caribbean became America’s playground. Stephen Kinzer, author of Overthrow: America’s Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq, notes that the US was relentless in its interventions there.
After World War II, things got sneakier. Enter the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the go-to tool for covertly toppling governments worldwide. During the Cold War, US leaders framed these actions as a necessary fight against communism—cue the domino theory, which suggested that one fallen government could trigger a chain reaction.
Fast forward to the 21st century, and the script evolved – now, interventions were often about “fighting terrorism.”
1983: Hawaii—Take the case of Hawaii in 1893, for example. A group of white business and plantation owners, backed by a US envoy, staged a coup against Queen Liliʻuokalani, Hawaii’s last reigning monarch. Her predecessor, King David Kalakaua, had already been forced at gunpoint to sign away much of his power to the white planter elite.
The coup leaders wasted no time pushing for annexation, and by 1898, Hawaii became part of the US. It stayed a territory until 1959, when it was officially granted statehood.
A hundred years after the coup, in 1993, the US government issued a formal apology to Native Hawaiians for overthrowing their monarchy and annexing nearly two million acres of land without their consent or compensation. But as many Native Hawaiians would argue, no apology can undo the loss of their sovereignty.
So, while the US often touts itself as a champion of democracy, its actions behind the scenes tell a different story—one where the line between protector and puppeteer gets increasingly blurred.
1933: Cuba—Banana Wars and Batista’s Rise
In 1898, as the US was celebrating its victory in the Spanish-American War, it also took control of Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines, along with beginning a military occupation of Cuba. While Cuba was officially recognized as an independent nation in 1902, the US maintained a significant caveat: it reserved the right to intervene militarily whenever its interests were threatened.
Over the next few decades, this so-called right led to the infamous “Banana Wars,” a series of US invasions across the Caribbean. The goal? Protect American-owned sugar, fruit, and coffee businesses from labor strikes and revolutions.
By 1933, the US had a new favorite in Cuba: Fulgencio Batista.
Backed by Washington, Batista led a coup that overthrew the Cuban government, cementing his role as a pro-American military leader. But when Fidel Castro ousted Batista in 1959 and established a communist regime, the US wasn’t about to sit idly by.
President John F. Kennedy’s Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 was a disastrous attempt to topple Castro’s government, marking one of the earliest—and most infamous—covert operations led by the CIA.
1953: Iran—Oil and the Birth of Operation Ajax
By the 1950s, the US had perfected the art of covert operations, thanks to its newly minted Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Gone were the days of blatant interventions; now, secrecy was the name of the game. At the height of the Cold War, President Dwight Eisenhower and CIA Director Allen Dulles wanted “plausible deniability”for their actions, and Iran became a prime testing ground.
In 1953, the CIA orchestrated the overthrow of Iran’s democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh. The official reason? To prevent Soviet aggression in the region. The real motivation? Securing US and British oil interests.
The coup, known as Operation Ajax, handed power back to Iran’s Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was far more aligned with Western interests. While the coup might have seemed like a win for the US, it sowed deep resentment among Iranians, setting the stage for the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
1954: Guatemala—The Fruits of Intervention
A year after the Iran coup, the CIA turned its sights on Guatemala. The target this time was Jacobo Árbenz, the democratically elected president whose land reforms threatened the American-owned United Fruit Company. The company, which owned a staggering 42% of Guatemala’s land, had deep ties to Washington’s elite – Secretary of State John Foster Dulles had worked for its law firm, and his brother, CIA Director Allen Dulles, sat on its board.
1960–1965: Congo—The Rise of Mobutu
In 1960, the Republic of the Congo (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) celebrated its independence from Belgium, electing Patrice Lumumba as its first prime minister. However, Lumumba’s tenure was short-lived. After a Belgian military invasion and internal unrest, the CIA branded him a communist threat, likening him to Fidel Castro. The agency actively facilitated his capture and assassination in 1961.
What followed was the Congo Crisis, a chaotic five-year period during which military leader Mobutu Sese Seko consolidated power with CIA backing. By 1965, Mobutu staged a coup, positioning himself as the nation’s ruler in the name of preventing communism. His dictatorship, propped up by the U.S., lasted until 1997, leaving a legacy of corruption and authoritarian rule.
1963: South Vietnam—A Coup in the Midst of War
The Vietnam War was a quagmire of U.S. intervention, and South Vietnam’s President Ngo Dinh Diem became one of its casualties. Initially supported by the U.S. for his anti-communist stance, Diem’s oppressive rule, particularly his persecution of Buddhists, eroded his popularity.
In November 1963, the CIA funded and encouraged a coup that resulted in Diem’s assassination, mere weeks before President John F. Kennedy’s own assassination. The Pentagon Papers later revealed this covert operation, underscoring the U.S.’s readiness to topple even its allies when they became liabilities.
1973: Chile—The Allende-Pinochet Transition
When socialist Salvador Allende became Chile’s president in 1970, President Richard Nixon saw a threat to U.S. interests. Determined to prevent a leftist government, Nixon directed the CIA to support Chilean factions plotting to overthrow Allende.
In 1973, General Augusto Pinochet seized power in a violent coup. While the CIA’s direct involvement in the coup remains debated, its earlier actions undeniably destabilized Chile, paving the way for Pinochet’s dictatorship. A chilling phone exchange between Nixon and Henry
Kissinger encapsulated the era: “Our hand doesn’t show on this one,” Nixon remarked, while Kissinger admitted, “We helped them…created the conditions as great as possible.”
1980s: Nicaragua—The Iran-Contra Affair
During the Reagan years, the U.S. doubled down on covert operations. In Nicaragua, the CIA organized and funded the Contras, a group fighting the socialist Sandinista government led by Daniel Ortega. To finance this effort, the Reagan administration secretly sold arms to Iran—an illegal move that erupted into the Iran-Contra scandal when exposed in 1986.
Although Ortega’s government fell in 1990, the U.S.’s actions in Nicaragua left a legacy of division and mistrust.
2001: Afghanistan—A War That Spanned Two Decades
The 9/11 attacks in 2001 spurred the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, aimed at dismantling the Taliban and establishing a pro-Western government. Hamid Karzai, backed by the U.S., became the face of this new regime, followed by Ashraf Ghani. However, the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, as the U.S. withdrew, raised questions about the long-term impact of America’s longest war.
2003: Iraq—Regime Change and Chaos
The 2003 invasion of Iraq, justified by the false claim that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction, marked another chapter in U.S. interventionism. The overthrow of Hussein led to years of political instability, with the country’s governance remaining fragile even after the U.S. formally ended its war in 2011.
So, why does the US keep playing puppeteer on the world stage? Maybe it’s power, maybe it’s politics, or maybe it’s just old habits dying hard. Whatever the reason, the question is – when will the US start minding its own business?
