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Oula A. Alrifai is a fellow in The Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s Geduld Program on Arab Politics and a former asylee from Syria. She is author of the recently published report “In the Service of Ideology: Iran’s Religious and Socioeconomic Activities in Syria.” Alrifai served as executive producer of the award-winning documentary Tomorrow’s Children, which explores the plight of Syrian refugees forced into child labor in Turkey.
The policy consequences of Arab state normalization with the Assad regime
The recent push by a number of Arab states to normalize relations with the Assad regime is based on the false premise that the war is over and it is necessary to restore ties to lobby Damascus to change its relationship with Iran. Other regional dynamics are also a factor: The UAE, for example, sees it as a necessary balance against what it perceives as adversarial actions by Turkey with the Syrian jihadist group HTS in Idlib. Yet these rationales for rehabilitating the Assad regime are completely fallacious. The downsides and policy consequences will not only affect Arab states, but will also harm American interests, making it difficult for the U.S. to fully pivot to address the rising threat from China.
