Syria’s future depends on whether it will protect its most vulnerable citizens — Christians and Kurds.
Syria’s future depends on whether it will protect its most vulnerable citizens — Christians and Kurds.
T he fall of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in December 2024 marked the end of one of the most brutal tyrannies of our time. For half a century, the Syrian people endured mass imprisonment, chemical weapon attacks, and the systematic destruction of entire cities at the hands of their own government.
Assad’s collapse created a moment of hope — not only for Syrians, but for all who long to see peace and stability in the region. That hope is now in jeopardy.
As Syria’s new government seeks international recognition and sanction relief, it faces a simple but decisive test: how it treats Christians and Kurds. The fate of these most vulnerable Syrian citizens will determine whether the country is joining the rest of the world or merely replacing one form of repression with another.
History teaches us that the treatment of religious minorities is the clearest measure of a regime’s character. Across the Middle East, Christians, Yazidis, Druze, and Alawites have too often been the first victims of political upheaval. Early reports from Syria are deeply troubling.
While the new authorities project moderation, credible accounts of sectarian violence carried out by armed factions now operating under government authority continue to mount.
This is especially tragic in a land that is the cradle of Christianity — the place where the Apostle Paul encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus and where the early church first took root.
Today, Syria ranks among the worst countries in the world for persecuting Christians, according to Open Doors International. More than 70 percent of the Christian population has fled since the fall of Assad a little over a year ago. Last year, a terrorist attack on a Greek Orthodox church in Damascus killed 30 worshippers — the deadliest assault on Syrian Christians since 1860.
A Syria that allows religious minorities to be harassed, displaced, or murdered — whether by the state or by militias it tolerates — has no claim to legitimacy on the international stage.
The plight of the Kurds is equally concerning. As vice president, I traveled to Erbil and saw firsthand the courage and sacrifice of Kurdish fighters who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with American forces to destroy ISIS. They shed blood to defeat one of the most barbaric terrorist movements in modern history, protecting not only their own communities but the civilized world. That sacrifice must not be forgotten now that the cameras have moved on.
Recently, a deal has been announced to integrate Kurdish forces into the Syrian state. This development is welcome, but not sufficient. Integration can contribute to stability only if it is voluntary and backed by enforceable constitutional guarantees. Without real political participation and security, integration risks becoming a polite term for subjugation. America must judge this agreement not by promises but by results.
All of this must be viewed in light of Syria’s new government. The new leader, Ahmed al‑Sharaa, and several of his senior advisers have documented ties to ISIS and al-Qaeda. A sudden change in rhetoric does not erase an employment record of extremism. The United States must not repeat the mistake of confusing tactical moderation for moral transformation. The burden of proof lies with Damascus — not with the West.
America has no interest in endless war or nation-building in Syria. But neither should we rush to normalize relations or provide reconstruction aid without conditions that will put Syria on a path toward human flourishing that includes freedom of worship, accountability for abuses, and durable guarantees for long-suffering Kurdish communities.
This is not naïve idealism, but realism informed by hard experience. Societies that persecute religious minorities do not become stable; they become powder kegs of resentment that inevitably explode into conflict.
The question now is not whether Syria will choose the right path, but whether the United States will insist on it. America must lead — using diplomatic pressure, targeted sanctions, and conditional engagement — to ensure that Syria’s new rulers understand that legitimacy in the eyes of the world must be earned. We owe that clarity to our Kurdish allies, to persecuted believers, and to our own national security.