In a dramatic geopolitical manoeuvre, US President Donald Trump met Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia, marking the first high-level US.-Syria contact in 25 years. The meeting, held on May 14, hosted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and joined virtually by Turkish President Erdogan, follows Trump’s announcement to lift U.S. sanctions on Syria, calling it “a historic step toward regional stability.”
Al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammad al-Julani and once listed on the U.S. State Department’s terrorist list with a $10 million bounty, now leads Syria after overthrowing Bashar al-Assad five months ago. Washington’s conditions include Syria normalising ties with Israel, deporting foreign militants, and taking charge of ISIS detention centres. Al-Sharaa welcomed the deal, calling the sanctions relief “bold and courageous.”
Trump described al-Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda-linked militant leader known as Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, as a “young, attractive, tough guy” with a “strong past” and a “real shot” at stabilizing Syria.
US. Secretary of State Marco Rubio followed up with Syria’s foreign minister on May 15, discussing a phased rollback of sanctions and outlining a “roadmap to regional reintegration.” Meanwhile, analysts say the shift is intended to undercut Iranian and Russian influence in Syria — while Gulf leaders pitch al-Sharaa as a “pragmatic Islamist.”
But in this theatre of Middle Eastern diplomacy, America’s talent for turning yesterday’s threats into today’s partners continues unabated. A decade ago, the U.S. placed a $10 million bounty on al-Sharaa’s head. Today, they’re shaking hands under the chandeliers of Riyadh. One can only marvel at Washington’s evolving definition of “terrorist”— a label that seems to wash off with enough regional support and timely regime change.
The very same U.S. and its intelligence apparatus that funded Afghan mujahideen from Pakistani soil in the 1980s, bombed Baghdad in the 2000s, and launched the grand “War on Terror” — only to hand Afghanistan back to the Taliban two decades later — now recasts the theatre in Syria.
From fuelling the Pink Revolution to looking the other way during the rise of ISIS, America’s Middle East saga is less about strategy and more about shifting scripts in a cat-and-mouse charade of who mocks whom.
Critics funnily call this as if foreign policy were a reality show, Washington would win top prize for costume changes — terrorists by night, ribbon-cutting dignitaries by dawn.
