In a significant foreign policy development, a delegation of senior US diplomats has arrived in Damascus for the first formal talks with Syria’s new Islamist leaders since the stunning collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime earlier this month. The landmark visit, confirmed by the State Department on Friday, marks a cautious step towards diplomatic engagement with the rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which now holds the reins of power after spearheading the lightning offensive that ousted Assad.
The US team, led by top Middle East official Barbara Leaf and veteran diplomat Daniel Rubinstein, will hold discussions with HTS representatives as well as Syrian activists, civil society figures, and minority groups. According to the State Department, the overarching goal is to gain insight into the various factions’ “vision for the future of their country and how the United States can help support them” in forging a stable post-Assad path.
Balancing Counterterrorism Concerns and Diplomatic Necessity
Washington’s decision to dispatch a high-level delegation to Damascus underscores the delicate balance it must strike between long-standing counterterrorism considerations and the urgent need for diplomatic engagement in the wake of tectonic shifts on the Syrian battlefield. HTS, despite its current conciliatory stance, has roots in al-Qaeda, a history that has led the US to maintain its distance even as it opposed Assad’s brutal rule.
However, with HTS firmly in control and Assad gone, the US appears to be making a calculated gamble on the possibility of guiding the rebel alliance towards moderation and inclusivity. The alternative—diplomatic disengagement—risks ceding influence to other powers and allowing Syria to slide back into the abyss of extremism and conflict.
Pursuing Concrete Objectives Amid Uncertainty
Beyond the broad goal of encouraging HTS onto a constructive path, the US delegation has several specific objectives. Perhaps most pressing is the fate of missing Americans in Syria, chief among them journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared in August 2012. The inclusion of Roger Carstens, the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, underscores the urgency of this issue.
The diplomats will also seek to gauge the sincerity of HTS leader Abu Mohammad al-Jolani’s public pronouncements since Assad’s fall. Jolani has struck a notably conciliatory tone, emphasizing Syrian unity, minority rights, and the need for rebel groups to lay down their arms—but it remains to be seen whether this rhetoric will translate into meaningful action.
Advancing Step-by-Step with Cautious Optimism
US officials have emphasized that this initial engagement does not imply an endorsement of HTS, let alone a normalization of relations. Sanctions relief and further diplomatic openings will be strictly conditioned on the group’s conduct. Secretary of State Antony Blinken put it bluntly: “There are no guarantees at all. We’ve seen too many times one dictator can be replaced by another.”
Nevertheless, Blinken and his colleagues clearly believe that, for all the risks, diplomatic engagement represents the best hope of shaping Syria’s post-Assad trajectory. “We have a chance, and the Syrian people have a chance,” Blinken recently noted, “if concerned countries, including the United States, work to move this in a good direction.”
Only time will tell whether this landmark meeting paves the way for a more stable, peaceful, and democratic Syria—or proves to be one more fleeting moment of hope in a conflict that has brought precious few. For now, however, the sight of US diplomats returning to Damascus after a decade-long absence represents a significant glimmer of possibility amid the uncertainty that clouds Syria’s future.
