In a single day, US policy toward Syria veered from punishment to partnership, from isolation to negotiation. The airstrikes allowed the White House to project strength, hammering ISIS positions and signaling that American firepower still shapes the battlefield. But behind closed doors in Damascus, the meeting between Tom Barrack and Syria’s new leadership told a different story: one of calculated risk, fragile promises, and moral trade-offs.
Lifting sanctions, framed as “giving Syria a chance,” hinges on a bet that a rebranded regime will abandon old atrocities and embrace a new political path. For Syrians shattered by war, it could mean reconstruction or renewed repression. For the United States, it’s a move that might either stabilize a broken region or legitimize a government many still see as complicit in mass suffering. History will judge whether this was strategic vision—or a perilous bargain.