Posted originally on CTH on May 14, 2025 | Sundance

Just two-months ago, Ahmad al-Sharaa remained designated as an al-Qaeda terrorist by the United States Government, there was a $10 million-dollar bounty on his head.  Yesterday, as Syria’s interim President, Ammad al-Sharaa shook hands with President Donald Trump in Saudi Arabia.

President Donald Trump continues to navigate the world threading a message of peace and trying to stop conflict through economic negotiations.

While emphasizing peace and prosperity within a complicated geopolitical world built upon conflict, President Trump continues to cut through the political gordian knots that enmesh global interests in war.  To say this is a stunning effort would be an understatement.

Optimal solutions are not complex but witnessing them is often difficult to reconcile against historic memory and traditional patterns.

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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump met with interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, the first encounter between the two nations’ leaders in 25 years and one that could mark a turning point for Syria as it struggles to emerge from decades of international isolation.

The meeting, on the sidelines of Trump’s get-together with the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council, marks a major turn of events for a Syria still adjusting to life after the over 50-year, iron-gripped rule of the Assad family, and for its new leader, who once had a $10 million U.S. bounty for his arrest.

Trump praised al-Sharaa to reporters after the meeting on Air Force One, saying he was a “young, attractive guy. Tough guy. Strong past. Very strong past. Fighter.”

Under the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, al-Sharaa had ties to al-Qaida and joined insurgents battling U.S. forces in Iraq before entering the Syrian war He was even imprisoned by U.S. troops there for several years. (read more)