Trump Has Big Mideast Goals, and He Knows the Obstacle Is Netanyahu
Finally—yes, there’s one more!—Syria too is emerging as another fault line in U.S. and Israeli interests. After years of civil war and internal collapse, longtime Syrian dictator Bashar Al Assad was finally ousted last December, and a new government in Syria was formed by a Turkish-backed Syrian faction that was proscribed as a terror organization by the U.S. Israel would like to see Syria remain a weak and divided state, even if that means further breaking it up along sectarian lines or fomenting another decade of civil war. But the rest of the region, and Syrians themselves, do not want this outcome. Instead, they want a stable, peaceful, prosperous Syria that reintegrates into the global and regional economy.
A key obstacle in their path is Western sanctions on Syria that have crippled its economy and made foreign investment impossible. Current Syrian President Ahmed Al Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed Al Jolani, recently visited France for the first time to press his case at the Élysée Palace. Sharaa, who is still a U.S.-designated terrorist, is supposed to be meeting with President Trump in Riyadh. But Trump made the big headline before the meeting even took place, announcing in an address that after speaking with the Saudi crown prince and the Turkish president, he has decided to lift all sanctions on Syria. Syria’s neighbors, such as Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon, have also borne the burdens of Syria’s long war, dealing with refugee influxes that have presented severe economic and political challenges, and they too want to see a Syria that can be a safe and prosperous neighbor.
Israel has a different agenda. Trump, the businessman turned president, seems to have decided that a Syria open for global investment and growth is better than one constantly subject to Israeli domination. Netanyahu isn’t going to be thrilled with this decision either. Nor will Netanyahu, who has long championed the use of American power to reshape the Middle East, be happy to hear Trump lambaste neoconservatives, nation-builders, and interventionists.
