Froma UN terrorist blacklist, with a $10 million price on his head, jihadist rebel leader and now Syrian president Ahmad al-Sharaa has in one year gone from pariah to one of Donald Trump’s “besties”. He’s “rough” but “I like him”, Trump said of al-Sharaa - echoing his praise of tough men Putin and Erdogan - following his visit to the White House on Monday, the first-ever by a Syrian president.
Last week the UN and others partially lifted sanctions that had been imposed on Syria and on al-Sharaa and his interior minister Anas Khattab due to their previous ties with Islamic State (IS) and Al-Qaeda. On Monday Syria joined an international alliance against IS, which is still active within the country. It was a clear token of al-Sharaa’s commitment to reforming his battered state and bringing it back from international isolation under former dictator Bashir al Assad.
Reversing the ruinous effects of 14 years of civil war is a collossal challenge. The World Bank estimates it will take $216 billion to rebuild the war-ravaged country. Al-Sharaa has been making the rounds of the Gulf states and even attended the COP summit in Brazil to drum up investment, in the latter case in renewable energy. His hope in Washington is that the US will follow-up July’s commitment by the Saudis of over $6 billion in investment and willingness, with Qatar, to clear the country’s debt to the World Bank.
Syria’s rehabilitation is not by any means secure. Clashes between the Sunni regime and Alawite forces still loyal to Assad, along with sectarian violence involving the Christian, Druze and Bedouin communities, reflect the fragility of Syria’s communal patchwork and raise doubts about al-Sharaa’s promises of inclusiveness. Israel now occupies swathes of land on the southern border, ostensibly to protect the Druze.
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The new Syrian leadership must do everything possible to bring its forces under control, prevent such sectarian attacks, and bring those responsible to justice. And the international community must rally to support Syria’s revival and reintegration into its ranks.
