While the threat of terrorism increases internationally, as displayed by the events in Nigeria, Indonesia, and North Carolina, the Obama administration has decided to ease trade sanctions on Syria, a nation that gives aid to terrorist organizations Hezbollah and Hamas. Did I forget to mention that they are close allies of Iran? This post should end right here, but I will continue to break it down for my less conservative cohorts.

Trade sanctions are leverage. Right now, we need Syria to make peace with Israel, increase cooperation with Iraq, stop funding Hezbollah and Hamas, not interfere with the Lebanese political process, respect for human rights, and help us in projects like preventing Iran’s development of nuclear weapons. With the unilateral easing of sanctions, we have just removed some of that leverage. What has Syria done to earn this economic boost we are about to give them? Nothing significant. Just like Obama’s Cuba policy, the unilateral easing of sanctions only gives the impression that America is in the business of giving up concessions for little to nothing in return.

We can be sure of one thing: the economic benefits from this concession to the Syrian regime will end up helping Hezbollah and other terrorist groups in the Middle East, enemies of Israel and the United States. The only positive that we can get from making friends with the Syrian dictatorship is the possibility of drawing them away from Iran, but in the long-term it makes no sense for Syria to abandon their long-time ally. Iran is growing in power and may be a serious power broker in Iraq, it only benefits Syria to keep Iran close. Syria and Iran will remain part of the Anti-American Axis in the region, and while Obama is around, they will squeeze us for every last drop, every last concession he’s willing to give them. The Obama administration has been a public relations and diplomatic coup for dictatorships and terror-sponsors around the world.

-AG