US Normalizes Sanctioned Regime for White House Photo-Op
The Biden administration, ever keen on diplomatic theater, is reportedly pushing for a UN vote to revoke sanctions on Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad (Al-Monitor). Ostensibly, this is to facilitate a 'historic' White House visit by Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, whose regime has been extensively documented by UN investigators and human rights groups for using chemical weapons on its own
populace and perpetrating widespread torture. (For context, think of the Caesar Act, signed into law in 2019, specifically targeting the Assad regime for its human rights abuses.) One might wonder: how many massacred journalists and barrel-bombed hospitals does it take before a regime becomes truly un-rehabilitatable in Washington's eyes? Apparently, the price tag for a handshake and a photo
opportunity is merely the global memory of over a decade of brutal suppression and humanitarian catastrophe. Remember when 'never again' meant something other than 'until we need a new geopolitical friend?'