A Syrian girl celebrates the announcement. CNBC/Reuters

President Trump has announced that the United States will be removing sanctions from Syria. CNBC. Syria has been listed as a state sponsor of terrorism since 1979 and was under severe sanctions that not only punished Syria, but the countries that traded with them. However, Trump said that since the Assad regime was overthrown last year the sanctions no longer served any purpose and America would attempt to normalize relations with the country. Lifting the sanctions would allow Syria to rebuild after more than a dozen years of a brutal civil war. Trump said that the lifting of sanctions was suggested by the leadership of Turkey and Saudi Arabia. 

My Comment:

I have mixed feelings about this decision. To say that I don't trust the current leadership of Syria is an understatement. They are the remains of the al-Qaeda linked group, al-Nusra and though they have claimed they have reformed, I still don't trust anyone that used to be Islamic terrorists. 

I also worry about the treatment of religious minorities in Syria and sanctions could have been a way to ensure that Syria's Sunni Muslims, Alawites, Christians and Druze are treated well by the government. There have already been clashes between the Druze and Islamist militants and I fear that could continue. 

But I also agree that it was time to get rid of the sanctions. I generally think sanctions are worthless. They don't do much other than cause misery for the poorest and most vulnerable people in the countries under them. Indeed, it wasn't sanctions that collapsed the Assad regime, it was military force and the fact that Russia was largely distracted with the Ukraine War. 

And it also makes little sense to continue anti-Assad sanctions when Assad is gone. I absolutely have misgivings against the new government, but I do think they should have at least a chance to govern and the people of Syria absolutely need help. Syria was a fairly decent place to live before the civil war and they could absolutely become that again if they are allowed to trade with other non-Russian countries again. 

I think the real reason for this has little to do with Syria though. The move comes as we are making efforts to restore relations with Saudi Arabia, which were damaged, if not destroyed, under Joe Biden. It was a fairly easy concession to make to the Saudis, who want Syria open for trade. It was a great way to mend relations and it was essentially zero cost. 

This may be an additional message to Israel too. Normalizing relations with Syria might be considered a blow to Israel as they are afraid of Turkey's operations in the country. This may indeed be another attempt to actually end the conflict in Gaza, with a clear message that if the Israelis won't work with us, we will work with the Arab world instead. 

Either way, the obvious real winners are going to be the normal folks of Syria. They were the ones that were damaged by these sanctions in the first place and now they may be able to build new lives in the wake of the war. Even though I have misgivings with the new government of Syria I do hope the people there benefit greatly from this.