Enab Baladi – Hani Karazi

Syrian organizations in the United States continue their efforts to revive the Anti-Normalization Act with the Syrian regime’s president, Bashar al-Assad, about two and a half months after it was blocked by US President Joe Biden, despite being overwhelmingly approved by the House of Representatives.

The efforts to revive the act were evident through a special session held by the Helsinki Commission in the US Congress, specializing in human rights, on July 10 discussing the war crimes committed by the Syrian regime.

According to Global Justice (an American-Syrian organization), the hearing was titled “Putin’s Syrian Puppet: War Crimes and Complicity from Syria to Ukraine,” chaired by Congressman Joe Wilson.

The Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF), in coordination with the Helsinki Commission, which includes members from both the Republican and Democratic parties, coordinated the list of witnesses who attended the hearing in Congress.

The witnesses included SETF Director Mouaz Moustafa, former member of the American Coalition for Syria Mohammed Ghanem, and Hollywood director M. Night Shyamalan, who is aware of the regime’s violations.

The testimonies spoke about the victims caused by the Syrian regime and its Russian ally’s bombings, the Turkish normalization with the regime, and the importance of the Biden administration enacting the Anti-Normalization Act to halt this course.

In his congressional testimony, SETF Director Mouaz Moustafa stated, “If it weren’t for Putin and Iran’s intervention to keep al-Assad, a drug-trafficking genocide practitioner, in power, Syria would be an emerging democracy. Therefore, if we leave al-Assad in power regardless of his atrocities and the rejection of the free Syrian people, no refugee will ever voluntarily return.”

Gateway to reviving the Anti-Normalization Act

Former member of the American Coalition for Syria, Mohammed Ghanem, was among those who testified before Congress, highlighting the importance of enacting the anti-normalization bill and stressing that the White House blocked it.

Ghanem told Enab Baladi that the hearing held in Congress was very significant in the effort to get the Anti-Normalization Act enforced, but noted that one session alone is not sufficient to achieve this goal. Instead, it comes within the context of long-term cumulative efforts by the Syrian lobby in the United States.

According to Ghanem, the testimonies about al-Assad’s violations are entered into Congress’s official archive, and some American representatives, who take an interest in particular testimonies, might invite the witness to their office later to work together on a decision or bill or send a letter to Biden to act against normalization withal-Assad, meaning that the session “opens the door to files or other legislations.”

Ghanem emphasized during the session, which witnessed large attendance from bipartisan members of Congress, that the normalization track with al-Assad pursued by several countries harms American interests, as rehabilitating al-Assad is one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s key objectives to distract the West from his war in Ukraine.

During the session, Ghanem directed a pressure message to Senator Ben Cardin, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who played a prominent role in obstructing the Anti-Normalization Act, asking him not to add a “blemish” to his history because of his opposition to the bill.

The Syrian lobby pressures

The wide Syrian lobby in the United States, comprising civil society organizations, businessmen, opinion leaders, and Syrian politicians with US citizenship, continuously raises Syria-related issues before Congress.

The Syrian lobby in the United States contributed to raising many projects, including the 2023 Anti-Normalization Act with al-Assad, driven by the American Coalition for Syria, which encompassed ten American organizations specializing in Syrian affairs. The coalition held 327 meetings and visits over months leading to the approval of the act in Congress.

The coalition presented the bill to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and it was passed with an overwhelming majority, but President Biden blocked it at the end of last April.

The influence owned by the Syrian lobby in the United States motivated the Trump campaign to seek support from this lobby in the upcoming presidential elections through a series of meetings organized by Trump’s allies with Arab American opinion leaders in several swing states.

The Syrian lobby in the United States includes many organizations, most notably Global Justice, the Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF), and Citizens for a Safe America (C4SSA), which have significantly worked on the Anti-Normalization Act with al-Assad.

On May 22, the three organizations also presented seven demands before Congress: amending the Caesar Act to include senior political officials in the Syrian government, preventing recognition or normalization with al-Assad’s regime, developing a strategy to counter Syrian regime and Iranian militia cooperation in Syria.

Demands also included protecting the al-Tanf base from potential attacks by the regime, Iranian militias, Russian forces, and the Islamic State, appointing a special US envoy to counter Iranian-backed militias in Syria, presenting a strategy on the relationship between al-Assad’s regime and the Islamic State, and a strategy on Russian support for foreign “terrorist” organizations in Syria.

Biden eases pressure on al-Assad

There was significant enthusiasm among Syrian circles that worked to pass the act promptly to curb the drive for normalization with the Syrian regime. Therefore, they pushed for the Anti-Normalization Act with Damascus and the “Captagon II” Illicit Captagon Trafficking Suppression Act to Congress and President Biden’s desk as part of a new set of laws related to funding Ukraine to confront the Russian invasion.

But the Senate approved the Captagon law, passed it to the President for signing, and it became effective immediately, whereas the Senate delayed the Anti-Normalization Act’s approval due to White House pressure.

The blocking of the Anti-Normalization Act with al-Assad led The Washington Post to accuse President Biden of quietly working behind the scenes to ease pressure on al-Assad’s regime, while publicly stating opposition to normalization.

Mohammed Ghanem attributed Biden’s blockage of the bill to the fact that it has actual, not symbolic, implications and would change the current US policy towards al-Assad, which the Biden administration does not want to change. Hence, it intervened and asked Senator Ben Cardin to block the bill.

Ghanem warned that America’s permission for Arab countries to normalize with the al-Assad regime might encourage European countries to approach al-Assad to solve the refugee issue, noting that some believe it is currently limited to Turkey and Lebanon, but there might be a hidden European movement towards normalization with al-Assad, which could become apparent later.

American apathy

According to the Jusoor for Studies Center, the American handling of the Syrian dossier has declined over the past years, despite media confirmations by Washington on supporting UN Resolution 2254 and backing peaceful change in Syria. In practice, its stance is significantly affected by rapid regional and international changes in recent years that prioritize issues other than the Syrian cause.

Despite Arab normalization with al-Assad last year and Ankara’s progress toward rapprochement with Damascus, Washington confined itself to media statements. A US State Department official told Enab Baladi on July 8 that his country’s stance on normalization with the Syrian regime has not changed, and Washington will not normalize relations with the regime in the absence of real progress towards a political solution to “the fundamental conflict.”

The American leniency towards normalization paths with al-Assad raises questions about the future of the Anti-Normalization Act with al-Assad. The director of the Syrian Justice and Accountability Center, Mohammad al-Abdallah, told Enab Baladi that the Syrian dossier is not a priority for Biden, whose term is nearing its end, and he hasn’t appointed a special envoy for the Syrian dossier until now, as America is preoccupied with the Ukraine war, Gaza, and other issues.

Given this reality, al-Abdallah ruled out Biden’s approval of the Anti-Normalization Act with al-Assad, noting that there is a state of American coolness in dealing with paths of rapprochement with al-Assad. Washington only made verbal objections to Arab normalization with al-Assad, imposed sanctions on the Syrian regime, and stated it does not encourage this normalization.

Al-Abdallah pointed out that it might be better for the United States if some regional countries proceed with rapprochement with al-Assad, so that Washington or western countries do not feel embarrassed later, in case they follow the other countries that have entered the normalization path.

Strategic expert and non-resident researcher at the Stimson Center in Washington, Amer al-Sabaileh, told Enab Baladi that the approval of the Anti-Normalization Bill and its transformation into law will have repercussions on everyone, especially Washington’s allies. They may find themselves considering that normalization with al-Assad could affect their relations with the United States or could subject them to sanctions.

What is the Anti-Normalization Bill

The Anti-Normalization Bill with al-Assad was initially introduced in the House of Representatives on May 11, 2023, where the House Foreign Affairs Committee unanimously approved it within two working days of its introduction, a speed described as “extraordinary to legislative norms.”

On February 14, the US House of Representatives approved the bill, with 389 members (an overwhelming majority) from both the Democratic and Republican parties voting in favor, compared to 32 who opposed the bill.

The bill stipulates that the US will not recognize or normalize relations with any Syrian government under al-Assad’s leadership and will annually develop a strategy to counter normalization with the Syrian regime, targeting countries that have taken steps to normalize with it.

The bill includes enhancing the sanctions outlined in the 2019 Caesar Act by extending its provisions, initially set to end in 2024, to 2032.

It also expands sanctions to include entities that divert humanitarian aid or confiscate properties from Syrians for welfare or personal gain and extends sanctions to the Syrian People’s Assembly and senior officials of the Baath Party.