Trump Turns Decade-Old American Policy On Its Head In Just One Speech

President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that sanctions on Syria would be lifted during a speech in Saudi Arabia.

Trump embarked on a trip to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, signing a deal for at least $600 billion in investments with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Tuesday. Trump said it was time to give the Syrian people a chance to “show something very special.”

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“They’ve had their share of travesty, war, killing. Many years. That’s why my administration has already taken the first steps toward restoring normal relations between the United States and Syria for the first time in more than a decade,” Trump said to applause from the crowd. “And I am very pleased to announce that Secretary Marco Rubio will be meeting with the new foreign ministry in Turkey. After discussing the situation in Syria with the crown prince, your crown prince and also, with President [Recip Tayyip] Erdogan of Turkey, who called me the other day and asked for a very similar thing, among others and friends of mine, people who I have a lot of respect for in the Middle East. I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness.”

“Oh, what I do for the crown prince,” Trump continued to laughter from the crowd. “The sanctions were brutal and crippling and served as really an important function. Nevertheless, at the time, but now it’s their time, it’s their time to shine. We are taking them all off. I think they are going to have, based on the people and spirit and everything else I’m hearing about, I say good luck, Syria, show us something very special.”

During his first term in office, Trump launched strikes on Syria after forces backing then-Syrian President Bashir al-Assad used chemical weapons in 2017 and 2018 after the Syrian dictator used chemical weapons.