For a Biden administration in its final days, managing the downfall of Bashar al-Assad was not in the cards. For a Trump administration dedicated to isolationism and America First, Syria’s future may be too important to ignore.
Before last week, the frontlines of the country’s nearly 13-year-old civil war had been largely frozen. Conflicts in Ukraine and Israel were dominating attention and US diplomatic efforts around the world. And the trend toward normalising relations with Assad only appeared set to extend his time in power.
