US has $10 million bounty on Syrian rebel leader al-Golani. Now we need his help. | Opinion
Consider the life of Syrian revolutionary Abu Mohammed al-Golani, who led the insurgency that drove Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad from the country this weekend.
He comes from a Syrian family forced out of the Golan Heights by Israel's invasion during the Six Day War in 1967. He was raised amid the terror and oppression of the murderous Assad family's dictatorship. He adopted a worldview of Islamic radicalism early in life, and when the United States invaded Iraq, he crossed the border in 2003 to take part in the resistance with al-Qaida.
Captured in 2006, al-Golani was imprisoned by U.S. forces for five years. After the American withdrawal from Iraq, he returned to Syria to take part in the revolt against Assad as a representative of the most radical elements in al-Qaida, which were morphing into the Islamic State group.
Then he began to moderate, possibly because of the brutality he witnessed in rebel-controlled areas of Syria or possibly because Assad effectively demonized the entire opposition as ISIS and thus rallied Syrian Christians, moderate Muslims and Druze to his side.
The United States still has a $10 million price on his head, but we don't really pursue it. He's no longer a priority because we are ambivalent about parts of the Syrian opposition.
US, Russia and Islamic State group opposed al-Golani
As he rises to power this week in Damascus, part of an improbably swift takeover, al-Golani has been thwarted or attacked in one way or another by Israel, the United States, the Islamic State group, Russia, Iran and Assad.
The only major world power that has not been against him is China. And he's probably strangely grateful for Israel's dramatic weakening of Hezbollah, which served as Assad's hired killers and apparently the dictator's only loyal soldiers.
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The Americans, the occupiers he hated and fought in Iraq, have helped fund his allies for years and weakened Assad with sanctions and by occupying part of his territory. America also kept the Islamic State group in check in eastern Syria.
I can't think of a rebel leader who rose to power faced with that kind of antagonism from world powers. The traditional rebel who comes to power has a major ally, quietly or openly. The Soviets supported many ‒ such as Fidel Castro in Cuba, Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua and Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam. And the United States supported Jonas Savimbi in Angola and dozens of others.
It's far too early to say that al-Golani will be in charge for the long term or that Syria will be unified. There is so much on al-Golani's plate immediately, including how to handle looters. We learned in Iraq that allowing looting in the early days was a huge mistake.
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He also will have to figure out how to handle the remaining "independent" areas in Syria not controlled by his forces as well as how to handle 900 U.S. troops and two Russian bases in the country.
Then there is how to handle what could be a huge influx of displaced persons back to Syria, and how to handle revenge or justice for those who worked with Assad and have the most blood on their hands.
What role will Islam have in new Syrian government?
The biggest question: What kind of government does al-Golani want? And with what kind of relationship to Islam?
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The "Arab Spring" revolution that swept some Arab nations in the early 2010s is back, at least in one centrally located, vitally important nation. Let's hope it has a happier result than it has had so far in Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Algeria, Gaza and the West Bank.
So much depends on this one man, al-Golani, with the most unlikely life story, marked by major powers that wanted him dead. Will he attempt to impose fundamentalist Islam? Will he try to install a true democracy in the heart of the Middle East?
As when Castro took over Cuba, the world waits to find out what a rebel is like in power. Rulers reveal themselves in their choices.
Jeremy Mayer is an associate professor in the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University, where he also directs the master's and Ph.D. programs in political science.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Can al-Golani restore stability in Syria after Assad? | Opinion