Following the rapid collapse of Bashar al Assad's government in December 2024, the United States' strategy in Syria is shifting from isolation to engagement, in the hopes that normalizing Syria will also stabilize it -- and protect Washington's long-term interests. But this engagement remains limited, and it is unclear whether the United States is willing to balance the Turkish and Israeli influence campaigns trying to change Syria's strategic orientation. While the United States is trying to signal that Syria is open for business, this strategy could yield unwanted outcomes if Washington doesn't remain proactively engaged, and instead stays reactive as regional powers, and Syrians themselves, vie for the country's future. Should this happen, the United States may be pulled back in to fight old foes like the Islamic State and al Qaeda (arising from state collapse or balkanization), or forced to reimpose isolation....
