Syria is special because most of the population was either neutral or pro assad, only a minority, I would say 20% supported these extreemist al quaeda types. I talked to many Syrians on this, they were all scared and panicking when these terrorists launched their mongol horde invasion of Syria from idlib and turkey and then terrorist sympathisers started a revolt in daraa near the Israeli and Jordanian border. This wasn't a popular uprising, despite people fallaciously showing showing crowds cheering as if it's proof HTS terrorists are popular.
In this instance it was an invasion of Syria, not a popular revolt and the reason why Syria was difficult to topple for a decade and half was because most Syrians hate these extreemist types wether they're neutral or pro Bashar, most Syrians wanted to see change in Syria and a more free syria with less abuse, but most did not support these forgein sponsored thugs who hijacked the movement to replace Syria with a new dictator that is a puppet of America.
Unfortunatley because Bashar was a fool who didn't listen to Iran or allies, because he brown nosed gulf state dictatorships, because he replaced all his battle hardened soldiers with smugglers, mercs and drug dealers, because he did not control the oil feilds, because of covid, earthquake and the Cesar sanctions, his country crumbled at the first sign of this foreign invasion and Bashar betrayed his own country by giving it up willingly to al quaeda 2.0.
That's why they allied with such a system, because the opposite is litterally al quaeda 2.0 which were witnessing now or lybia 2.0 which is a possibility or Israel occupying large swaths of Syria which is also ongoing, all of these alternatives are nightmarish compared to Bashar.
This should be a lesson to never trust America, turkey, Israel or the West in general when it comes to these regime change operations, there is always a catch when they come as this helper. Revolutions should be done organic with an actual goal, otherwise you get whatever the hell this is that were witnessing unfolding in Syria.