Syria–United States relations: Priority issues between the two states include the Arab–Israeli

conflict, the Golan Heights annexation, and the Iraq War. The official relations began in 1835 when
the United States first appointed U.S. consuls to Aleppo which was then a part of the Ottoman
Empire.After Syrian independence was declared in 1946 the United States established a consulate
in Damascus. On September 7, 1946, the United States recognized an independent Syria,
appointing George Wadsworth to the diplomatic mission. During the Gulf War in 1990–91, Syria
cooperated with the United States as a member of the multinational coalition of forces. The U.S. and
Syria also consulted closely on the Taif Accord, ending the civil war in Lebanon. Syria improved its
relations with the United States by securing the release of Western hostages held in Lebanon and
lifting the travel restrictions on Syrian Jews. n the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in the
United States in 2001, the Syrian Government began limited cooperation with U.S. in the War on
Terror. In one such case, Syrian intelligence alerted the U.S. of an Al Qaeda plan similar to the USS
Cole bombing, which was to fly a hang glider loaded with explosives into the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet
headquarters in Bahrain.[3] Syria was one of the most common destinations for the U.S. to send
captives outside of its borders to be tortured, a program known as "extraordinary rendition.
Syria has publicly condemned international terrorist attacks, and has not been directly linked to
terrorist activity since 1986, as it denies any involvement in Hariri killing. Syria actively bars any
Syrian-based terrorist attacks and targeting of Westerners. Instead, Syria provides “passive support”
to groups it deems as legitimate resistance movements

About terrorism in Syria and what USA does:

Syria is a signatory to nine of the 13 international conventions and protocols relating to terrorism. While
Syrian officials have publicly condemned international terrorism, they continue to insist there is a
distinction between terrorist attacks and attacks undertaken by “national liberation movements”
engaged in legitimate armed resistance, including Palestinian groups, Lebanese Hizballah, and members
of the Iraqi opposition. The United States does not agree with this characterization and has designated a
number of these groups as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. During the reporting period, the United
States raised concerns about Syria’s support of these groups directly with the Syrian government.
Designated in 1979 as a State Sponsor of Terrorism, Syria continued to provide safe-haven as well as
political and other support to a number of designated Palestinian terrorist groups, including HAMAS,
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command
(PFLP-GC). Several of these terrorist groups have claimed responsibility for terrorist acts in the past, but
none over the past year. The number of foreign fighters from extremist groups, including those affiliated
with Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), transiting through Syrian territory into Iraq has decreased significantly from
its peak flows in 2005-2007. The existence of foreign fighter facilitation networks in Syria, however,
remains troubling. Bombings in Iraq in 2009 underscore the threat these networks continue to pose, but
the United States recognizes Syrian efforts to decrease foreign fighter travel into Iraqi during the
reporting period. In 2009, Syria increased border monitoring activities, instituted tighter screening
practices on military-age Arab males entering its borders, and agreed to participate with the U.S. and
Iraqi governments in a trilateral border security assessment of the Syrian side of the Syrian-Iraqi border.
Although preparatory meetings were held, the actual border assessment did not occur after the Iraqi
government withdrew its support in August 2009. The Syrians have indicated a willingness to establish a
border security mechanism if future Iraqi governments are supportive. While Syria has long provided
sanctuary and political support for certain former Iraqi regime elements (FRE), Damascus denied
supporting terrorist attacks and urged Baghdad to include the FRE in the Iraqi political process. In 2008,
the United States designated several Iraqis and Iraqiowned entities residing in Syria under Executive
Order 13438 for providing financial, material, and technical support for acts of violence that threatened
the peace and stability of Iraq, including Mish’an Al-Jaburi and his satellite television channel al-Rai. Iraqi
government officials criticized al-Rai for serving as a “platform for terrorists.” Additionally, the United
States designated one Syria-based individual in 2007 under E.O. 13224 for providing financial and
material support to AQI and six others under E.O. 13315 as FRE or family members of FRE, some of
whom had provided financial assistance to the Iraqi insurgency. Syria’s financial sector remains
vulnerable to terrorist financing.

Despre cum vede USA in prezent prioritatile referitor la Syria:

The United States’ diplomatic policy on Syria for now is no longer

focused on making the war-torn country’s president, Bashar al-Assad,
leave power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said on
Thursday, in a departure from the Obama administration’s initial and
public stance on Assad’s fate.The view of the Trump administration is
also at odds with European powers, who insist Assad must step
down. The shift drew a strong rebuke from at least two Republican
senators.
The Obama administration, in its later years, was focused on reaching
a deal with Russia that would eventually see Assad go, though it also
shifted its focus to the fight against Islamic State militants, who
captured swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria in 2014.

As presidential nominee, Donald Trump said defeating Islamic State

was a higher priority than persuading Assad to step down.

Trump Orders Missile Attack in Retaliation for

Syrian Chemical Strikes: The United States
fired Tomahawk missiles into Syria in retaliation for the regime of Bashar Assad using nerve
agents to attack his own people.
President Donald J. Trump ordered the attack on Al-Shayrat Air Base, the base from which
the chemical attack on Syria’s Idlib province was launched. The missiles were launched from
U.S. Navy ships in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.
Trump ordered the targeted military strike on the airfield that launched the attack. “It is in the
vital national security interest of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of
deadly chemical weapons,” the president said.
No one disputes that Syria used banned chemical weapons of the people of Idlib, he said,
adding that this is a violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention. Syria also
ignored United Nations Security Council resolutions.
“Years of previous attempts at changing Assad’s behavior have all failed and failed very
dramatically,” Trump said. “As a result, the refugee crisis continues to deepen and the region
continues to destabilize, threatening the United States and its allies.”
Trump called on all civilized nations to join the United States in seeking an end to the
slaughter in Syria, and to end the threat terrorism poses in the blighted nation.

The head of the United Nations refugee agency said on Friday that
safe zones would not work inside Syria for people fleeing the
country’s nearly six-year-old war. The war has divided Syria into a
patchwork of areas controlled by President Bashar al-Assad, various
rebel groups fighting to unseat him, Kurdish militia and Islamic State
militants.U.S. President Donald Trump said last week he would
“absolutely do safe zones in Syria” for refugees escaping violence and
that Europe had made a mistake by admitting millions of refugees.
According to a document seen by Reuters, Trump is expected to order
the Pentagon and the State Department to craft a plan for the safe
zones, a move that could ratchet up U.S. military involvement in
Syria.Trump has not provided details about the proposed zones,
except to say he would have the Gulf states pay for them. Policing
them could prove difficult in a war zone dotted with armed groups.

The State Department has secretly financed Syrian political opposition

groups and related projects, including a satellite TV channel that
beams anti-government programming into the country, according to
previously undisclosed diplomatic cables.
The London-based satellite channel, Barada TV, began broadcasting in
April 2009 but has ramped up operations to cover the mass protests in
Syria as part of a long-standing campaign to overthrow the country’s
autocratic leader, Bashar al-Assad. Human rights groups say scores of
people have been killed by Assad’s security forces since
the demonstrations began March 18; Syria has blamed the violence on
“armed gangs.” The U.S. money for Syrian opposition figures began
flowing under President George W. Bush after he effectively froze
political ties with Damascus in 2005. The financial backing has
continued under President Obama, even as his administration sought
to rebuild relations with Assad. In January, the White House posted
an ambassador to Damascus for the first time in six years.
The cables, provided by the anti-secrecy Web site WikiLeaks, show
that U.S. Embassy officials in Damascus became worried in 2009
when they learned that Syrian intelligence agents were raising
questions about U.S. programs. Some embassy officials suggested that
the State Department reconsider its involvement, arguing that it could
put the Obama administration’s rapprochement with Damascus at
risk.
Syria, a police state, has been ruled by Assad since 2000, when he took
power after his father’s death. Although the White House has
condemned the killing of protesters in Syria, it has not explicitly called
for his ouster. The State Department often funds programs around the
world that promote democratic ideals and human rights, but it usually
draws the line at giving money to political opposition groups.

The Obama administration initiated a policy of rapprochement with Syria. However, with the

governments' violent response to the Syrian civil war in 2011, relations have cooled dramatically and

senior American officials, including President Obama himself, have repeatedly called for Syrian

President Bashar al-Assad to resign.

In this war, the US and its allies, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey are
interested in driving the Assad regime out of power by any means
simply because the interests of the Syrian people overlap somewhat
with Russia; political and economic strategic goals in the area, oil and
natural gas