Trump’s smart Syria gamble

President Donald Trump’s decision to lift sanctions on Syria was a smart gamble for a president with historic ambitions. On Tuesday in Saudi Arabia, Trump announced that he will lift all sanctions on Syria, many of which have been in place for decades. Then, on Wednesday, he met Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa, the first encounter between an American president and a Syrian counterpart in a quarter-century. Though not without risks, Trump’s move to normalize relations between the United States and the war-torn country could secure long-term strategic interests and reshape a region long beset by chaos.

Crucially, the move signals Trump’s determination to prevent Iran from reasserting its influence following Israel’s punishing military campaigns against Iranian proxies. Tehran spent tens of billions of dollars propping

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