Abdullah Al-Haqim 
The Washington Post said that Syria is witnessing a state of economic deterioration, and its security is fraught with dangers, noting that the United States can save this country, which is about to become a failed state to lift sanctions even temporarily.
The newspaper stated – in its editorial – that Syria, more than three months after the overthrow of the regime of ousted President Bashar al -Assad, is still in a desperate situation, because 14 years of the civil war destroyed its economy, where 90% of the Syrians live below the poverty line, and about 16.5 million of its residents depend on humanitarian aid to meet their basic needs.
The new government is still fighting to impose security, facing the remnants of the supporters of the deposed regime, the escalation of kidnappings and killings, and the Israeli air strikes targeting weapons depots, the newspaper says.
The interim Syrian president, Ahmed Al -Shara, faces great challenges such as reforming economic chaos, imposing security, and preventing the country from dividing on sectarian foundations, and he needs every possible assistance, and the United States can – according to the newspaper – by raising the administration of President Donald Trump immediately the US economic sanctions that hinder Syria’s recovery.
The United States had imposed sanctions on Syria for the first time in 1979 because of its occupation of Lebanon and its support for Hezbollah, and President George W. Bush added more sanctions, announcing that Syria is part of the “evil axis” because it possesses banned chemical weapons, and the sanctions were tightened after the outbreak of the civil war in 2011, and in 2019 the Caesar Law that expanded the scope of “secondary sanctions” was approved to include non -American entities.
Impalls due to US sanctions
Syria -backed sanctions from Britain, the European Union and other countries are among the strongest sanctions in the world, and it has paralyzed the Syrian economy, but without Assad and his entourage being affected by only a little because of Russia and drugs.
Indeed – as the newspaper says – some countries have reduced specific sanctions to allow the new rulers to recover the country, the European Union suspended the sanctions imposed on the energy, banking and transportation sectors, and Britain also lifted the sanctions from 24 Syrian entities, and the freezing of the assets of the Central Bank of Syria, and Canada allowed the money to reach Syrian banks.
But Syria has not yet witnessed a significant flow of financial aid and foreign investments due to the continued strict US sanctions, and the Gulf states still refrain from assistance for fear of violating American law.
Al -Sharaa called for the lifting of the sanctions, and took some positive steps, pursued an agreement to integrate the militia led by the American and supported by the National Security Service, and welcomed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio this step, but he asked the government to hold the perpetrators of the “massacre” against the Alawites.
Syrian and international relief organizations, human rights organizations, and Jews of Americans who have fled Syria for decades and wanted to return to the restoration of ancient Jewish temples, have called the Trump administration to reduce sanctions.
Although the United States justifies its warning – as the newspaper concludes – it can, without spending one dollar, can prevent Syria from becoming a failed state by temporarily lifting sanctions.
