Syria: anatomy of regime change

With a Foreword by Oliver Stone.In December 2024, Syria's president Bashar al-Assad departed for Russia after militia forces took Damascus. An Al-Qaeda affiliated group led by Abu Mohammed Al-Jolani (aka Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa) took power. New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman hooted that it was the "biggest...most game-changing event in the Middle East in the last 45 years." Yet until then, Al-Jolani was wanted for terrorism and had a U.S. State Department $10 million bounty on his head since 2017.The media-established story of popular "rebels" triumphing over "evil" has since dominated. Washington's role in this long-standing regime change operation was erased.This is the first comprehensive account of the U.S. regime change operation in Syria dating back decades. The goal was to end Syria's nationalist economic program, its support for the Palestinians, and its steadfast opposition to U.S. and Israeli hegemonic designs in Western Asia.The methods utilized fit a long-standing U.S. regime-change playbook applied worldwide. Key aspects include a protracted demonization campaign, imposition of crippling economic sanctions, and CIA financing of rebel groups under the billion-dollar Operation Timber-Sycamore.Jeremy Kuzmarov holds a Ph.D. in American history from Brandeis University. He did his BA and MA at McGill University in Montreal, where he was born. He has taught at numerous colleges in the United States and is regularly sought out as an expert on U.S. history and politics for radio and TV programs. Managing Editor of CovertAction Magazine, Kuzmarov is author of five books on U.S. foreign policy, including Obama's Unending Wars (2019) and Warmonger (2024). In addition, he has contributed to many edited volumes, including The Oxford Handbook of Late Colonial Insurgencies and Counter-Insurgencies. Kuzmarov lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma.Dan Kovalik has been a labor and human rights lawyer since graduating from Columbia Law School in 1993. He served as in-house counsel for the United Steelworkers for twenty-six years. He has represented plaintiffs in human rights cases arising out of egregious abuses in Colombia. He also taught International Human Rights at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law from 2012 to 2023. Author of many books, including The Case for Palestine: Why It Matters and Why You Should Care, he received the David W. Mills Mentoring Fellowship from Stanford Law School, the Serena Shim Award for Uncompromised Integrity in Journalism, and Iran's 15th Farabi International Award. Dan Kovalik lives in Pittsburgh.Oliver Stone is an Oscar-winning Filmmaker as (Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July) and is the author of several books including the highly acclaimed memoir Chasing the Light.Praise for the authors' previous books.About Kuzmarov's Obama's Unending Wars"A devastatingly clinical analysis "―Max Blumenthal"extraordinary book"―Peter KuznickAbout Warmonger (on Clinton's foreign policy)"Who first set us on this disastrous road of endless war and imperial overreach? Kuzmarov brilliantly answers these questions in his stunning new book."―James BradleyAbout Kovalik's The Case for Palestine"New leaders like Dan Kovalik are now among us. New books like his are our weapons." George Galloway