CONCERNING: Syria Says Jihadi President Will Make Unprecedented White House Visit

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From Breitbart: Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani announced in a speech on Sunday that the country’s president, former jihadist terror chief Ahmed al-Sharaa, will visit the White House in early November.

Sharaa became president after his terrorist organization, the al-Qaeda offshoot Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), toppled the Iran- and Russia-linked regime of former dictator Bashar Assad, who fled to Moscow in December. Assad’s family ruled the country for over half a century and Assad himself presided over a civil war featuring over 10 warring interests that lasted over a decade. HTS, following its victory, has in effect been disbanded, as its leaders are now the government of Syria.

Following the defeat of the Assad regime, Sharaa shed his jihadi nom de guerre “Abu Mohammed al-Jolani,” began wearing Western-style suits, and has focused almost exclusively on attracting foreign investment for post-war reconstruction. To that end, he has offered positive statements towards the United States and President Donald Trump in particular, first meeting the American head of state in May. Trump described Sharaa on that occasion as a “young, attractive guy” who had “a real shot” at bringing the nation out of years of destitution.

While emphasizing the need for international financial help, Sharaa is leading an Islamist government and has denied that Islamism is a threat to the nation’s Christians, Alawite Shias, Druze, or other religious groups. Damascus adopted an Islamist constitution in March and has imposed some sharia, or Islamic law, but rejected a fundamentalist adaptation in the manner of the Taliban in Afghanistan. In June, for example, Sharaa’s government mandated that women must wear “burqinis” at the beach, but also banned men from taking off their shirts in the same venues.

According to Axios, al-Sharaa is planning to visit President Trump at the White House on November 10.

During a speech at the Manana Dialogue Forum in Bahrain on Sunday, Shaibani reportedly announced, “President al-Sharaa is scheduled to visit the White House this month, where he will hold discussions on Syria’s post-war reconstruction.”

“Of course, this is a historic visit. It is the first visit by a Syrian president to the White House in more than 80 years,” Shaibani continued. “There will be many issues on the table, starting with the lifting of sanctions and opening of a new chapter between the United States and Syria. We want to establish a very strong partnership between the two countries.”

BACK STORY: Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa, 42, now the president of Syria, is also known by his former gorilla leader name, Abu Mohammad al-Julani.  The United States once had a $10 million bounty on al-Julani’s head, but the Biden administration removed that bounty in December 2024, after he toppled the regime of then-Syrian President Bashar al-Assad earlier that month.

Al-Julani, or Al-Sharaa, had been designated as a terrorist by the United States since 2013. He had previously fought against U.S. forces in Iraq and served time in the infamous Abu Ghraib prison.

In May, ABC News reported that the United States had “no choice but to engage with al-Sharaa” after he became president of Syria, explaining that “a stable Syria is vital to the entire Middle East region.”

John Cohen, a former Department of Homeland Security undersecretary of intelligence, explained in May, “We have to engage. There are other powers, like China and Russia, who would be more than happy to assert geopolitical control over the region. So, it’s in our interest not to have that occur.”

In September, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was heavily criticized after he posted a photo of himself shaking hands with Sharaa, the former al-Qaeda leader.

Referencing Sharaa’s speech at the United Nations in September, prominent X user Dr. Maalouf pointed out, “He beheaded Christians, Yazidis, Druze, Alawites, and Kurds. Why did no one performatively walk out during his speech at the UN?”

Another X user posted a gruesome reminder: an old photo of Sharaa’s holding up a couple of heads.

When President Trump visited the Middle East in May, Saudi Arabia arranged a meeting between Sharaa and Trump. After the meeting, Trump reportedly said, of Sharaa, “Young, attractive guy. Tough guy. Strong past. Very strong past. Fighter. He’s got a real shot at holding it together. He’s a real leader. He led a charge and he’s pretty amazing.”

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