From Head-Chopping to 'Diversity' Loving: Al-Qaeda Rebrands in Syria w/ Patrick Henningsen

The Syrian army has announced its withdrawal from the city of Hama, following heavy fighting with Hayat Tahrir-al-Sham (HTS), the rebranded version of Al-Qaeda. As the group looks at how to govern its latest gains, which include Syria’s second-largest city of Aleppo, it is presenting itself as “diversity-friendly,” despite its clear Islamist extremist beliefs.

Patrick Henningsen, a journalist and geopolitical analyst, noted that HTS leader Abu Mohammad al-Jolani is no friend of “diversity,” and he studied under former Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. While Jolani has a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head, he’s currently being used as a tool of the U.S., Israel and Turkey, in an attempt to set up a rival government to challenge Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Russia and Iran.