Syria Held Hostage by US Deals; Trump’s Vision for Jolani Unveiled
The English section of webangah News Agency, quoting Al Mayadeen via Mehr News Agency, reports that as the announcement of Abu Muhammad al-Julani’s trip to Washington and his subsequent departure from the White House after meeting with U.S. president Donald Trump, discussions about this event continue within Syria.
Al-Julani: From Most-Wanted Terrorist to White House Guest
The man for whom the U.S.had placed a $10 million bounty until just months ago officially entered the White House as a guest. This occurred after the Trump administration made intense efforts to remove al-Julani’s name from the international terrorism list-a rare move in U.S. history.
The Syrian people-and indeed observers worldwide-understand that Trump has converted politics, economics, and warfare into deals aimed at profit.But what kind of deal does Trump seek with Syria’s new leaders? And can they truly deliver on the lucrative deal he wants?
Recently, Assad al-Shaibani, foreign minister of the self-proclaimed Syrian government, posted an Instagram video during his transit from Brazil to the United States showing Abu muhammad al-Julani on a basketball court alongside U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) commander Brad Cooper and Kevin Lambert, commander of the International Coalition against ISIS.
This footage serves as routine propaganda prior to major international visits or events-a well-known publicity tactic employed by al-Julani’s government.
Some believe that al-Julani’s regime is playing with Syria’s future and its people; every action he takes is viewed as a desperate attempt to appease foreign powers at great cost to Syria’s sovereignty and independence.
This group argues that security should top government priorities in Syria today. However, Syrian society-exhausted by years of conflict-is weighed down by severe inflation amid an acute economic crisis without any real sense of security while facing persistent repression by al-Julani’s regime and ongoing Israeli violations from all directions.
Profitable Deals That Trump Seeks in Syria
Last Monday morning, al-Julani entered Washington’s White House carrying multiple dossiers expecting generous concessions from America-but many Syrians believe his self-proclaimed government will not secure such advantages without paying a heavy price.
Evidence suggests that trump views al-Julani as a reliable partner on key regional issues-particularly regarding normalization agreements with Israel-and is willing to grant him considerable freedom. After meetings with Saudi Arabian, Qatari, and Turkish officials, Trump reaffirmed this stance; though many members of Congress and some American institutions strongly oppose it.
For example,
Bryan Mast-the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee known for his staunch support for Israel-vehemently opposes lifting sanctions entirely against Syria.
Due to meaningful budgetary deadlock within washington,
the Trump administration cannot fully lift sanctions but has succeeded so far only in temporarily suspending some Caesar Act provisions for 180 days.
A recent U.S. decision allows transfer of American goods and technologies into Syria strictly for civilian use-most requiring special licenses-with Treasury Department assurances there will be no comprehensive easing beyond this scope.
At least at this stage,
following protests by several lawmakers targeting Treasury over authority limits,
Trump invoked executive power asserting administrative rather than legislative control over sanction relief efforts.
Consequently,
he directed executive agencies to ease restrictions on certain trade items involving syria.
The Commerce Department stressed
Syria must halt all commercial transactions with Russia under these arrangements.
The Big Concession Trump Demands From Al-Julani on Behalf of Israel
The most critical agenda items for Trump’s administration regarding Syria directly concern israel: mainly southern Syrian territories’ status along with Damascus’ entry into normalization deals.
U.S.-appointed envoy Tom Barrack along with regional mediators especially Saudi Arabia,
Turkey, and Qatar have reportedly informed al-Julani’s self-declared government it must prepare to sign America’s security plan ensuring Tel Aviv’s interests in southern Syria are protected.
This proposal appears in documents prepared ahead of an anticipated meeting between Julani and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously scheduled last month during UN Security Council sessions in new York but was postponed due to Netanyahu demanding revisions; these include dividing “the buffer zone” southward into four concentric zones granting Tel Aviv extended security control reaching Damascus Airport, Sanaya & Jaramana areas, western Daraa outskirts and entire Quneitra governorate. ....
A corridor would also open connecting Hader town near Quneitra border through Dael area near Daraa bordering Jordan toward Suwayda village.
Accordingly,
al-Junlaan’s self-declared government requests America act as guarantor safeguarding any agreements reached,
implying establishing
a U.S.
military base southwest Damascus tasked
with monitoring compliance
to prevent Israeli strikes further inside Syrian territory.This point marks disagreement between Washington
and Tel Aviv over managing enforcement operations relating jointly negotiated accords.
Syrian analysts warn any security pact aligning Juliani’s regime closely »’// exacerbate internal tensions –
sectarian militias especially extremist factions may feel threatened enough
to rebel against Juliani himself.Therefore,
a major internal crisis seems unavoidable soon forcing resistance faced Janni-harsher crackdown imposed.
Such turmoil impacts national stability profoundly undermining trusty military-social fabric fragility right now;
at same time jeopardizes aspirations toward firming Julien-led governance long term.
