Will Al-Sharaa Meet the American Moment?

Excerpt

Your editorial “Syria Comes to Washington—at Long Last” (Nov. 11) rightly highlights the historic opportunity created by Ahmed al-Sharaa’s visit to the White House. Yet this opening will matter only if the Syrian president demonstrates that he can stabilize his country from within.

For all the benefits of joining the anti-ISIS coalition and negotiating security understandings with Israel, the real test lies inside Syria. Mr. Sharaa once promised an “inclusive transitional government,” yet he excluded groups such as the Kurds and Druze from constitution-drafting and the appointment of parliamentarians, which gave limited seats to the country’s minorities.

Ahmad Sharawi is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, focusing on Middle East affairs, specifically the Levant, Iraq, and Iranian intervention in Arab affairs, as well as U.S. foreign policy toward the region.