what’s at stake
US President Donald Trump made headlines in the Middle East last week as he announced plans to ease sanctions on Syria and move to normalize bilateral relations.
The decision won the president rare praise from Democrats, who see it as a logical step after rebels toppled the regime of autocrat Bashar al-Assad last year. Syria’s new president Ahmed al-Sharaa, who met with Trump last week, has promised to usher in a freer and more stable Syria.
But some experts and lawmakers are suspicious of al-Sharaa given his past ties to Al Qaeda. The group that gained control of Syria last year, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, still bears a terrorist designation, and al-Sharaa himself has been subject to a $10 million US bounty.
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who’s making the case
Matt Duss, executive vice president at the Center for International Policy and a former foreign policy adviser to progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., says Trump made the right call:
“This is the right move, which will aid desperately needed humanitarian and reconstruction efforts in Syria. While many in Washington treat sanctions as an end in themselves, we should remember that they’re actually a means to an end — they are tools to try and change behavior.
“Sanctions were imposed on the Assad regime for his brutal repression. While we should proceed cautiously, Syria’s new government seems to be governing in a better, much more equitable way, and that’s worth rewarding and further incentivizing.”
Steven Cook, senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, argues that the Trump administration is acting too soon:
“It’s a gamble, for sure. I’m not convinced that al-Sharaa has truly broken from his jihadist past, and his cadres continue to terrorize Syrians who are not Sunni. My sense is that Trump wants to incentivize the Syrian leader, but I think he has gotten it backwards.
“Trump should lift sanctions in exchange for al-Sharaa perhaps protecting minorities, reaching out to Israel, and doing more to allay Kurdish concerns about the new political order.”
Notable
- The conservative Wall Street Journal editorial page criticized Trump over the move.
- The Trump administration plans to seek a 180-day waiver for Syria sanctions from Congress, with the goal of removing them completely over the longer term, per Bloomberg.
- Trump’s sanctions announcement surprised officials working inside the Treasury Department, CBS News reported.