President Donald Trump’s administration is executing a sweeping overhaul of American policy in Syria, with plans to reduce the U.S. military footprint from eight bases down to just one. The move, described by U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria Thomas Barrack, signals a dramatic departure from decades of failed interventionist strategies in the region.
“Our current Syria policy will not be close to our Syria policy of the last 100 years, because none of them worked,” Barrack declared during a Monday interview with Turkish news channel NTN. He praised Trump’s decision to give Syria’s new transitional regime “a chance,” suggesting that old assumptions about America’s role in the Middle East are being thrown out the window.
The shift comes after a landmark meeting in Saudi Arabia between President Trump and Syria’s interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose forces recently overthrew the Assad dictatorship. The White House followed up the meeting by lifting sanctions on Syria and raising the American flag over its Damascus diplomatic residence for the first time since 2012.
Barrack said that the reduction in military presence was not just symbolic, but part of a broader realignment of strategy. “President Trump did something incredible,” Barrack said. “From eight bases, it will eventually drop to one.” He emphasized that this was not merely a cost-saving measure but a foundational shift in how the U.S. views intervention abroad.
Reuters confirmed on Tuesday that the drawdown had already begun. Sources from U.S. military installations in eastern Syria revealed that equipment and personnel had been relocated from Deir el-Zor to Hasakah Province. A U.S. State Department official said troop levels would continue to be “calibrated based on operational needs and contingencies.”
The policy pivot includes rethinking Syria’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism. Barrack indicated that Syria’s status could be reevaluated within six months, pending a congressional review. Currently, Syria is grouped with North Korea, Iran, and Cuba on the U.S. terror watch list — a legacy of the now-deposed Assad regime.
Barrack defended the shift toward normalization with Damascus, saying, “America’s intent and the president’s vision is that we have to give this young government a chance by not interfering, not demanding, not imposing our culture on your culture.”
While critics in Washington may view the rapid detente with suspicion — particularly given the presence of jihadist factions within Sharaa’s coalition — the Trump administration is betting that diplomacy and disengagement will prove more effective than occupation and endless warfare.
The real question now is whether this gamble pays off. The Syrian battlefield remains volatile, and many regional players — including Iran, Turkey, and Russia — still hold strategic ambitions in the area. But for the moment, Trump’s White House is signaling a decisive turn away from the neoconservative playbook that dominated for decades.
Instead of nation-building, Trump is opting for nation-exiting — and reshaping the Middle East in the process.
