Sharaa's 'Pivot' to US: Another Syrian Strongman, Same Old Script
The New Arab ponders Ahmed Al-Sharaa's potential pivot to the US, suggesting it could 'change the region.' This framing conveniently bypasses the historical record of US 'pivots' in Syria, which have consistently fueled conflict rather than resolved it. Remember the CIA's 1949 Syrian coup against democratically elected Shukri al-Quwatli? Or the relentless calls for 'regime change' that exacerbated
the recent civil war, providing fertile ground for extremist groups? The US track record isn't exactly a beacon of stability for Damascus. One might wonder if Sharaa's 'pivot' involves simply trading one set of foreign influences for another. The media, however, prefers to portray this as a strategic novel development, rather than the latest iteration of a cyclical, interventionist foreign policy
that has left countless Syrians — and the wider region — in ruins.