America should wish al-Sharaa well

Some readers will remember that I have an abiding interest in Syria. I studied Arabic in the summer of 2007 at Damascus University. I’ve got the T-shirt to prove it. The post-Assad transition was always going to be difficult. Now it is happening, at warp speed.

International hyperactivity

After more than 13 years of civil war, now President al-Sharaa collapsed the Assad regime in December 2024. He has spent the less than twelve months since consolidating power and re-establishing Syria as an international player. From October 28-November 10, his government met at various levels with Saudi Arabia, Russia, Jordan, South Korea, Kosovo, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, the European Union, Germany, Qatar, Turkey, Bahrain, Libya, Uzbekistan, Italy, Brazil, and Morocco as well as the World Bank, the United Nations, and UNESCO. Then al-Sharaa himself enjoyed a two-hour meeting with President Trump.

This would be an extraordinary level of activity for any government. But for one led by a former al-Qaeda leader who spent time in US military detention it astounds. I’d give him high marks for the interview above, though I note he was careful. He did not initially commit to being a US ally, though he later claimed circumstances made Syria a geopolitical ally. Al-Sharaa did not really say Syria would join the anti-ISIS coalition, but US officials have made that claim. He did not commit to normalization with Israel. We can be sure doing that will depend on the return of Syrian territory.

One notable omission from the international hyperactivity is Iran. Damascus is abandoning former President Assad’s alliance with Tehran, though not its links to Moscow.

The domestic front

Al-Sharaa also has his agenda full at home, where ironically diversity, equity, and inclusion are the order of the day. It is hard to believe Trump raised the issues in those terms. But Al-Sharaa was the leader of a Sunni rebel group with terrorist origins. Investigations of violence earlier this year against Alawites in Latakia and Druze in Suwayda are ongoing. So too are negotiations for reintegration of Kurdish-led forces and governing structures in eastern Syria. Al-Sharaa himself has been meeting with the Christian community. Convincing minorities in Syria that the majority Sunnis will treat them equally and fairly will be difficult but vital.

Nor will it be easy to revive Syria’s shattered economy. Syria’s per capita GDP is less then one-third of what it was before the 2011 rebellion and subsequent civil war. It needs a new currency, thorough reform to weaken the state’s stranglehold, and massive investment from abroad. Particularly important, and difficult, will be reform of the justice system and re-establishment of property rights. Millions of Syrians returning home from abroad and from displacement inside the country will need both.

Syria is operating under an interim constitution that is more autocratic than democratic. It will eventually need a permanent one, as well as elections. Al-Sharaa has put that prospect off for four or five years. He intends to govern in the meanwhile, without a prime minister. An appointed “People’s Assembly” advises him and is to prepare the new constitution. The President appoints judges of the constitutional court. Freedom of speech and association are, at least for now, far wider than under Assad.

Better than it was

Al-Sharaa is certainly a vast improvement over his predecessor, despite his Al Qaeda origins. But Syria has a long and difficult road ahead. Sustaining his so far moderate approach will be challenging. So too will be reintegrating Syria’s many non-Arabs and non-Sunnis. America should wish Al-Sharaa well. Even if I would prefer it were an America still committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion.