Al-Qaeda Expired for US in Syria?

The Washington Post in a report noted that the US president gave the order to the defense officials of the country to bring under fire the leaders of al-Qaeda terrorist organization in Syria. The Syrian branch of al-Qaeda has recently rebranded from al-Nusra Front to Jabhat Fateh al-Sham. The order follows an announcement of blacklisting Jabhat Fateh al-Sham as a terrorist group by the US.
 
Washington Post’s report continued that Obama has called for the Pentagon to mobilize their intelligence sources as well as combat drones to strike the terrorist group’s chiefs.
 
The order by the US president is coming while al-Nusra Front has enjoyed the indirect American backing over the course of past four years.
 
The militant groups that Washington brands moderate and receive arms from the US are in close alliance with Jabhat Fateh al-Sham. They are collectively operating under a coalition called Jaish al-Fatah.
 
The Washington Post claimed that White House’s focus on fighting ISIS terrorist group has so far kept Obama from giving the order, but the observers argue that the US declined to seriously target al-Qaeda in Syria during the conflict because it led many other militant groups and targeting it could weaken the opponents of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
 
The Washington Post continued its report by saying that Washington was yet to agree with this presidential decree. Earlier there have been reports suggesting that the US Department of Defense no longer operated under command of Obama. The reports added that US targeting of the Syrian government’s forces in September was conducted without the president’s coordination and was launched just a couple of days after a US-Russia agreement was reached on Syria. The US strike that killed over 60 of the Syrian troops was aimed at marring the deal with the Russians, according to the analysts. Should it was successfully implemented; the deal could soon uproot al-Qaeda in Syria’s Aleppo.
 
But Obama’s giving the order to strike al-Qaeda in Syria in this specific time on the one hand is linked to the results of the US elections and on the other hand relates to the battleground developments and realities. Obama’s new decision has been made after the Democratic candidate Hilary Clinton failed to become president. Clinton promised more serious and further support to the Syrian opposition groups, as she at the same time said that once she becomes president, she will plan establishing a no-fly zone over Syria. But to Obama’s frustration, President-elect Trump very cleanly came against this policy. Trump said he will work with the Russian President Vladimir Putin, a staunch ally of Syria’s Assad, to find a settlement for the Syrian crisis. This announced policy pushes almost all of the experts to suggest that if the Republican Trump fulfills his promises, the anti-government armed groups in Syria will be dealt a heavy blow and they will be considered uprooted in Syria.
 
On the other side, the front line developments proved to be going in favor of President Assad's government as the Syrian forces backed by their allies over the past years made considerable advances, and the key terrorist-held areas of Aleppo are now close to be retaken by the government forces. Besides, a strong presence of the advanced Russian defense equipment has kept any backing from going to this terrorist group from its supporters.
 
The conditions of the terrorist groups in Syria are worsening day by day as their regional supporters have reduced supports for them. Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf Arab states have shifted focus majorly on the war on Yemen. Turkey no longer seeks removal of President Assad and has shifted priority to battling the Kurds.
 
In a situation that the next president of the US plans no support for militant groups in Syria and the battlefield developments have limited any US influence on the ground, the decision of Obama can be interpreted as the expiration of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham for the US in Syria than the American determination to battle terrorism. Actually, the terrorist group has lost value for the US.