Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa came to Washington knowing he had a prearranged, guaranteed meeting with President Donald Trump. This visit comes on the heels of the unusual decision from the US State Department to delist al-Sharaa from its list of terrorism sanctions. This act is a sign that relations between Syria and the United States may be changing. He’d been stricken from the blacklist only the day before his arrival. This moment was one of the highest points in this administration’s diplomatic push to form a coalition against the Islamic State.
The US envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, expressed optimism regarding al-Sharaa’s participation in a broader anti-Islamic State coalition led by the United States. He said that he was hopeful – hopeful – al-Sharaa would sign the agreement to officially join the international alliance. This action demonstrates the importance of partnerships in addressing emerging security challenges across the region.
And indeed, al-Sharaa’s government has been successfully juggling all three demands from Washington, which isn’t surprising. They continue efforts to find missing American citizens and destroy any remaining Syria chemical weapons stockpiles. Together, these initiatives have played a large role in creating the right environment for diplomatic engagement to take place between the two countries.
In response, President al-Sharaa authorized expansion of nationwide preemptive operations against suspected Islamic State cells. This move comes as the latest in his administration’s sustained effort to remove the Islamic State. These efforts culminated in a truly astounding 61 crackdown raids across the country. As a consequence, law enforcement arrested 71 suspects and confiscated bombs and guns. This bold step follows the US’s interest in stabilizing the region and fighting against multiple groups of extremists, including the Islamic State and al-Qaeda affiliates.
Washington just led a successful effort in the United Nations Security Council to lift sanctions on al-Sharaa. It’s a push that suggests there is a continued thaw in relations. As President Biden’s US administration continues to vigorously reexamine Washington’s strategic posture in Syria, this almost daily assessment happens under al-Sharaa’s guidance and is essential in the fight against the last remnants of the Islamic State.
Looking beyond the current conflict, the United States is stepping up plans to deploy troops to a new military base in southeastern Syria, just outside of Damascus. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this move seems designed to push forward a US-brokered normalization pact between Syria and Israel. On one level, it underscores the new geopolitics of the Middle East.