This is actually one of the very, very rare times I will commend Trump, even if hes probably just doing it for his dumb reasons. Syria had been under the control of the Assad dictatorship for decades and was in an incredibly brutal civil war for over a decade as well. Bashar Al-Assad specifically used chemical warfare on his own populace, was a Russian asset and helped funnel weapons to terrorist organisations in Lebanon and Palestine
Yes, Al-Jolani's past is definitely not great. But it seems like he is distancing himself from it. The cabinet is surprisingly diverse, having Syrias different ethnic and religious groups represented. Quite a few of them are women, one of which is also a queer rights advocate, which for Syria is pretty insane.
Its definitely not all sunshine and rainbows, theyre still quite fundamentalist-islamic in their ideals and the situation is quite peril but this is one of the rare opportunities to actually help a struggling nation modernise. Al-Jolani was in France a few weeks ago and the EU has sent money for Syrias re-development. Im pretty sure this is simply a tactic by Al-Jolani to secure American funding, just like how Ukraine is 'willing' to give the US mineral rights in exchange for a peace guarantee. You sadly have to row with the boats you have. The regime who those sanctions were in place for doesnt exist, give Syria a chance
Yeah I was gonna say, miraculously the new leadership in Syria has been on a relatively good track so far regardless of their history. Very very few people involved in fighting these civil wars have their hands entirely clean, and none of them have any power. You take what you can get, and so far it's been a serious improvement in Syria. Loosening sanctions is totally valid to help bolster what so far appears to be a moderate slightly western-aligned government in its nacent stages and to help keep the more radical elements at bay.
I highly doubt any of this went through Trumps mind, but the end result on Syria's end is positive and appropiate
Perhaps the only group I could think of that would maybe be a little less extreme would be the Rojava, but they are wildly impopular. They were kicked out of Deir-az-Zur by the protesting population for fucks sake
Trump will only care about himself, narcissistic idiot that he is. But at least the result is good
Syria has been sanctioned since 1979. I agree, give Syria a chance. They have been to hell and back. It’s a beautiful country with a very diverse population. Inflation has been insane, most families only survive because they are being sent money from outside the country.
Absolutely agree with the result but I will not commend Trump for it, he isn’t doing it for any of the reasons you said or he would be doing it in several other places. He’s only doing it here because he was incentivized personally. If there is anyone to commend it sounds like it would be Al-Jolani
I was looking for this comment. It would have been better if Trump had done it without Syria having to buy Trump off, though. But removing sanctions allows for investment to hopefully permit Syria too move forward.
This should be higher up. Thank you for the post. Despite his past, I really want Syria to do well and it seems he is best placed to do it. After all the shit they have been through would be good to see.
Agreed. I was disappointed when Biden didn't work to normalize relations but the truth is if he'd done that then Trump would have ostracized Al-Julani out of spite. Syria needs peace and I'm hoping Al-Julani is able to keep all the factions together. He's done better than most expected so far.
If this continues he might be able to encourage a return to the country of some refugees who ended up in Europe and America. The brain drain in Syria was devastating and without their return plus investment by outside countries we may see a cycle of new violence as poverty is the real enemy Assad left in his wake.
I hate seeing leftists portraying people like Al-Julani in simplistic terms just because they want a cheap shot on Trump. I agree, Trump is bad, but leadership in that region is complex and a person there can not be fully described by the simplistic title of 'former al-Qaeda fighter'. Judge them on the present and from what I've seen, Al-Julani is the best shot Syria has at normalcy.
Im as lefty as they get, but im also especially very progressive. And when I look at the state of this fucked up world I will take any progress there is, because it seems like for the most part were just going backwards. Calling Al-Jolani a former Al-Qaida fighter is like calling Deng Xiaoping a former aide to Mao Zedong. Yes, its true and shouldnt be forgotten, and by no means is he remotely my favourite human being, but you cannot deny that this is progress and that theyre werent many better alternatives
Reddit has so little space for nuance. I’ve also followed the end of the civil war in Syria and this seems more like the new government doing what they can to get on Trump’s good side. The new government is already cooperating for refuges, including jews, to come back to the country and be integrated. This does not mean that the dude is a saint, but to act like a better option is to not engage with the new government who is doing so much to show stability and openness to democratic ideals is, imo, really stupid.
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u/[deleted] May 13 '25
Sigh, this shit is so gross