SETH J. FRANTZMAN
US President Donald Trump met the new Syrian leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa. The photos from this historic moment that surfaced on Wednesday symbolized that a new world order is emerging.
This is a major event in the Middle East.
Syrians celebrated throughout the night between Tuesday and Wednesday due to Trump saying that he would work to end sanctions on Syria.
Many people have commented on the rapid turn of events. Sharaa led his Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham forces into Damascus on December 8, 2024. It has only been five months since then, and Sharaa is already in Saudi Arabia meeting the US president.
When he first rolled into Damascus, he had a $10 million bounty on his head from the US owing to accusations of his involvement in terrorism in the past.
The US was quick to note in December 2024 that it would cancel the bounty. However, it remained to be seen if Washington would move quickly to establish ties.
European countries moved faster, and Sharaa visited France first, before meeting the American president.
The Trump meeting is symbolic on many levels. It brings to a close a chapter of US president George W. Bush’s Global War on Terror. That war began after 9/11 and saw US troops go to Afghanistan and Iraq.
Sharaa went to Iraq to oppose the US occupation there around 2005. He was held at a US-run detention center called Camp Bucca, according to reports.
No comments:
Post a Comment