Robert Ford

It was during US President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East in May that he first met Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa, after being urged to by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It was a bold move.

But bolder still was Trump’s later invitation for Al-Sharaa to visit the White House, which he did on Nov. 10. It is rumored that the president’s move drew the ire of cautious advisers, who were subsequently fired.

During Al-Sharaa’s White House visit, the Syrian leader held discussions for several hours with key Cabinet officials. Not every foreign leader gets to visit the Oval Office, albeit there was none of the pageantry that came with the big ceremonial state welcome given to the crown prince a week later. Still, Al-Sharaa’s visit was significant, not least for Trump’s public comments. “He’s a very strong leader,” Trump said of his opposite number. “He comes from a very tough place … I like him. I get along with him … He has had a rough past. We’ve all had a rough past.”

This was the first time a sitting Syrian leader had been to the White House and the first time a sitting American president had spoken supportively of a former member of Al-Qaeda. Trump, who appreciates leaders who take decisive action, believes Al-Sharaa’s terror links are a thing of the past and expressed his “confidence” that the former Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham leader could help Syria be a “successful” element of stability and peace in the region. For his part, Al-Sharaa spoke about shared bilateral interests and goals, such as regional stability and counterterrorism.

After hearing about Syria’s key role in the Middle East from leaders in Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and from Al-Sharaa himself, Trump repeats it regularly when talking to the media. Yet he has had some quiet pushback. Some members of his Republican base reject his characterization of Al-Sharaa. Laura Loomer, a social media personality, was among those to condemn Al-Sharaa as a Daesh terrorist and criticize his invitation to the White House.

Despite such criticisms, Trump is ploughing ahead. Some have even suggested that he might accept an invitation to Damascus. American security agencies would have concerns about his safety in the Syrian capital, where the US Embassy has yet to reopen. But if Damascus agreed, the US military could take control of a location inside a Syrian airbase near the capital where Trump could hold meetings with Syrian leaders. They did something similar in Baghdad, allowing high-level American officials........

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