Seeing hope in Syria, U.S. lawmakers consider lifting sanctions

On a recent trip to Syria, Michael Provence said his driver had some extra cargo in tow.

“My taxi driver took propane bottles, big ones—like a 10-gallon tank, probably, and he had those in his trunk,” Provence said. “And when we went back to Lebanon a few days later, he took empty tanks.”

Provence, who teaches the modern history of Syria at the University of California, San Diego, explained that private transportation is one of the only ways to get propane cooking gas into Syria—and around the CAESAR Act. That law, which Congress passed in 2019, targeted commercial exchanges with Syria, making it nearly impossible for the country to import goods like repair parts for water treatment plants, fuel, raw materials, and more.

“These were comprehensive sanctions that made it basically impossible for the state to raise money on any level and to import practically anything,” Provence said. “The act is really restrictive.”

Legislators initially used the law to target the regime of former President Bashar Assad, notorious for human rights abuses and fierce crackdowns on political opposition. Now, with the Assad regime almost five months gone, some members of Congress believe it’s time to relax that law.

While there are still questions about the new regime in Damascus, the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Intelligence told me he may soon introduce legislation to suspend or pause those sanctions. Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., said the change could meet acute humanitarian needs and serve the United States’ strategic goals in the region.

Mills just returned from a two-day trip to Damascus. He observed that Syrians have an appetite for political and social change even amid limited economic room for advancement.

“There were women and children, smiling in the streets, markets were open, people are shopping,” Mills said. “They literally had ‘make Syria great again’ banners.”

Up until December, Syria was locked in a 14-year civil war. The previous regime, led by Assad, waged a costly battle for control, rank with abuses like torture, kidnappings, and even the use of chemical weapons on civilians. Assad’s government largely relied on U.S. adversaries such as Russia and Iran for funding and weapons to sustain its operations.

After a shockingly swift guerrilla campaign forced him from power in December, Assad fled to Russia, leaving a power vacuum in Damascus.

Mills, who described his trip to Syria as a “fact-finding mission,” wanted to know: Would the new regime allow for diversity and tolerance of religion, particularly Christian practices?

Clashes between religious sects have led to significant bloodshed in Syria since Assad’s ouster. In March, Islamic jihadists killed at least 1,000 people in the town of Jableh, Syria. The new regime has promised a step away from that kind of violence.

After meeting with members of the new administration, Mills said he was impressed.

“From what I can see so far, the minister of special tourism and transition is a Christian female with full authorization. You have equal representation within the Alawites, from the Druze, the Christians, the Muslims,” he said, listing the religious demographics in Syria.

At the center of that change, Mills pointed to the new leader of the country: Ahmed al-Sharaa, the self-declared president of Syria and the leader of the opposition that overthrew the Assad regime. He has promised substantial reforms, representative government, freedom of religion, and more. In al-Sharaa, Mills believes the United States might find a partner who would turn away from Russia, especially because of how much Assad depended on Moscow. Mills told me he had the opportunity to meet with al-Sharaa and his cabinet.

“Now we can’t forget about his past obviously,” Mills added.

Al-Sharaa was a terrorist—and not just a footsoldier, either. Joshua Landis, co-director for the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, says those ties are extensive.

“He was al-Qaeda in Syria. He was the captain.” Landis explained. “At the age of 20, he went to Iraq, from Syria, to fight America in 2003 when America invaded. And he joined al-Qaeda, and he was evidently good at setting out roadside bombs.”

Landis explained that in 2011, al-Qaeda leadership asked al-Sharaa to go back to Syria to build the terrorist group’s local arm . When his faction came into conflict with Islamic State (ISIS), al-Sharaa dropped his al-Qaeda ties to seek the support of Turkey and Europe, rebranding his group as “Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham” (the Committee for the Liberation of Syria). At that point, al-Sharaa became more of an anti-government resistance fighter.

To members like Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., al-Sharaa’s apparent change of heart isn’t reassuring. Burchett sits on the subcommittee on the Middle East and is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

“The jury is still out on that,” Burchett said when asked about Syria’s new president. “I want to make sure the human rights violations are not continuing. I would like to have clarification on that, and as of yet, I haven’t gotten it, so I’d like to see that before I make any formal conclusions.”

Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., echoed Burchett’s concerns but said that he believes al-Sharaa has taken steps in the right direction.

“It’s harder to run a government than it is to be a terrorist,” Zinke said. “Thus far, I’m hopeful because things are improving. Some of the basic water services have been restored. I think we have to work through our allies on [sanctions].”

With a precarious humanitarian situation back in Syria, Provence, the professor from the University of California, says the United States should act sooner rather than later.

“They’re making burners that work with diesel fuel, which is not healthy,” Provence said, referring back to the lack of propane. “A lot of people don’t have enough to eat. People are really, really suffering. The electricity is on for an hour or so a day, there are no salaries.”

Mills, the lawmaker who just visited Damascus, believes there’s a possibility for an in-between option. In his view, Congress can pass a bill suspending—but not eliminating—the sanctions in place through the CAESAR Act. That way, if Syria reverses its trajectory, the United States can turn those sanctions right back on.

“We could not lift the sanctions, just suspend the current sanctions where if the conditions aren’t met, we could flip the switch right back and go right back into full sanctions and never touch them again,” Mills said.

Mills said he is working with Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., and others to see what options Congress has at its disposal. He did not give a timeline for when he might have a bill for consideration.