President Donald Trump took a risk on his Middle East trip, and it could be disastrous, according to a CNN analysis.
Written by Stephen Collinson, who believes there was a lot of “substance” that happened on the trip but lifting sanctions on Syria could backfire.
“Trump’s decision to lift sanctions came at the urging of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which both want to avoid unrest in Syria spreading,” he wrote. “There is also a desire in Riyadh, Washington, and Doha to prevent a return of outside powers to Syria.”
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“But Trump is taking a risk,” he said.
Historically, the country has faced foreign interference from states including Iran, Russia, Turkey, and Israel.
Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa is seen as the country’s “best hope for stability,” but many are worried he will not protect religious and ethnic minorities.
While Trump removed some sanctions, there are some written into law that Trump cannot remove. According to the report, Congress wants to be assured that ISIS will be driven out of the region before removing those sanctions.
Part of the caution is because of al-Sharaa’s past. He is also known as Abu Mohammad al-Jolani. In 2017, the U.S. put a $10 million bounty on him because he was the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), according to a Newsweek report.
The State Department has previously accused him of multiple terrorist attacks in Syria. Additionally, al-Sharaa has previously pledged allegiance to the ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and al-Qaeda before starting HTS in 2016.
Collinson believes Trump is “laying the groundwork for the laying of blame, should his decision [to lift sanctions] backfire.”
The Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will seemingly be held at fault. This is because he's been a strong advocate for Syria, and al-Sharaa. “Oh, what I do for the crown prince,” Trump said.
“There’s another reason for anxiety,” Collinson said. “Al-Sharaa seems to have activated Trump’s weakness for strongmen. He described the former terrorist as a ‘great young attractive guy’ and a ‘fighter.’”
Lastly, he added, “History is full of examples in which Washington put its trust in Middle East tough-guy leaders to keep countries torn by religious and tribal divides in one piece. In Iraq, such a bet ended up costing thousands of US lives.”