Assad is gone. The scramble has begun. Turkey wants buffer zones. Iran wants its corridor. Russia wants its bases. The Gulf states want influence without commitment. Every outside power has a stake and an agenda. The Syrians are, once again, the last consideration.
Ahmed Al-Sharaa’s visit to Washington was the most consequential meeting between a Syrian leader and an American president in decades. It signals a potential reset — but the conditions attached, and the history behind them, counsel caution before calling it a breakthrough.
