Saturday, September 12, 2026
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Saturday, September 12, 2026

Post-Assad Syria: The need for lifting US sanctions

Mr. Ahmad al-Sharaa meeting with Dr. Tarek Kteleh and a group of Syrian American activists, Damascus, Dec. 28, 2024; Photo credit: Dr. Kteleh’s X account.

In 2018, with the help of a vibrant community of Syrian-American activists, the Caesar Act was passed in the Senate and became law when President Trump signed it.

At the time, the aim was to hold the regime of Bashar Assad accountable for its atrocities after China and Russia shielded him from all of them. After eight years of heinous atrocities, it was the first law to denounce and punish Assad. After all of the crimes Assad had perpetrated, the law also sought to keep him from being refloated.

It became evident for me after travelling to Damascus and talking with senior officials, like Mr. Ahmed al-Sharaa, that the law was crucial to the siege and eventual overthrow of Assad.

As they say, armies crawl on their stomachs, and Assad’s soldiers, who were paid $10 a month, were unwilling to fight and die for him.

I cannot rule out the possibility that the law’s side effects have made living conditions worse

Regretfully, ordinary Syrians were impacted by the law’s unintended consequences.

Although I believe that the main causes of the decline in the standard of living for the citizens are Assad’s corruption and theft, the country’s long-term involvement in a war, and the Syrian Democratic Forces’ (SDF) seizure of Syrian oil and food supplies, I cannot rule out the possibility that the law’s side effects have made living conditions worse.

Mr. Ahmad al-Sharaa meeting with Dr. Tarek Kteleh and a group of Syrian American activists, Damascus, Dec. 28, 2024; Photo credit: Dr. Kteleh’s X account.

Now that Assad is no longer in power, the justifications for the Caesar Act and US sanctions also vanished.

there is finally optimism that we will have a modern state, even if it takes some time

Along with other organisations on the ground, we have recently formed a new organisation, the Syrian-American Alliance for Peace and Prosperity, to work towards lifting the sanctions and aiding in reconstruction. 

Please offer up prayers for us and support our efforts to lift the sanctions and start reconstruction.

The overthrown Assad left Syrians with a crumbling state that is around fifty years behind the rest of the world, but there is finally optimism that we will have a modern state, even if it takes some time.

Tarek Kteleh
Tarek Ktelehhttps://www.rocindy.com/provider/tarek-kteleh-md
Dr. Tarek Kteleh is a distinguished physician and community leader. His medical training includes degrees from Damascus University, the University of Missouri, and Washington University in St. Louis. He earned a Master’s degree in Liberal Arts with a focus on management. He has also held influential roles as Vice President of the Syrian American Medical Society and co-founder and board member of Citizens for Secure and Safe America.

2 COMMENTS

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