ABSTRACT
From the Cold War to its rapid descent into destructive civil war, Syria has played a unique role in Middle Eastern and global politics. While civil war rages in Syria, the United States remains flummoxed about an effective policy toward the country. US policy toward Syria remains ineffective for three principal reasons, all of which are intertwined and surfaced relatively early in the state's history. Since the end of World War II, the United States treated Syria principally as a marginal player, only directly engaging with Damascus in its efforts to wrangle a lasting peace with Arab states and its main regional ally, Israel. Syria was considered a second-tier concern, and its alignment with regional armed groups and its sponsorship of their terrorist tactics locked it into a purgatory imposed by the United States and Israel. For US-Syrian relations, the initial policies set in motion by the new radicals in Damascus would have a lasting impact on the bilateral relationship.
