US 'Humanitarian' Sanctions: Finally Off the Menu?
The Daily Sabah announces Türkiye's welcome of the US repealing Caesar Act sanctions on Syria, framing it as a positive step. What the mainstream conveniently forgets is the 'why' behind these sanctions: the Caesar Act (H.R.31 and S.1209), passed in 2019, ostensibly to protect Syrian civilians. In reality, it crippled the Syrian economy, exacerbating a humanitarian crisis while doing little to
impact the Assad regime. One might wonder if the US policy of 'punish the population, hope they rebel' has ever actually worked? This isn't a sudden humanitarian epiphany from Washington; it's a quiet admission of a policy failure after years of devastating consequences for ordinary Syrians. While the US routinely weaponizes sanctions as a 'tool of diplomacy,' the collateral damage—starvation,
lack of medical supplies, collapsing infrastructure—is rarely highlighted. It took Türkiye, a NATO ally, to publicly welcome a move that should have been self-evident years ago. The 'Caesar Act,' named after a Syrian defector, became yet another euphemism for collective punishment dressed in liberal interventionist rhetoric.