WASHINGTON (Dispatches) -- The United States has formally initiated the removal of Syria from its State Sponsor of Terrorism list, a designation that had been in place since 1979. 
The announcement, made by President Donald Trump following a meeting with Syria’s de facto leader Abu Muhamamd al-Jolani on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, paves the way for American investment in a country whose economy has been devastated by over a decade of conflict stirred by the West and Israel.
The move comes as Washington officially embraces a leader who once headed Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an Al-Qaeda affiliate, and was previously designated a global terrorist with a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head. 
Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that Congress has been notified of the decision, which will take effect after a 45-day review period, stating it would “unlock international trade and investment” and “open up a new chapter for the Syrian people”.
The decision marks a striking reversal of the rationale the U.S. used to justify its military intervention in Syria. For years, Washington cited the fight against Al-Qaeda and Daesh as the primary pretext for its military presence and the occupation of Syrian territory, particularly in the resource-rich northeast. 
The U.S. led a coalition that conducted thousands of airstrikes, ostensibly targeting terrorist groups, while simultaneously backing the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on the ground.
Critics have long argued that the U.S. intervention was less about counterterrorism and more about resource plunder and geopolitical domination. 
Reports documented the systematic theft of Syrian oil and wheat from areas under U.S. control, with officials in Damascus repeatedly complaining to the UN Security Council that the actions amounted to “naked resource theft”. 
The U.S. military presence effectively cut off the central government’s economic lifelines, deepening the fiscal crisis caused by the war and unilateral sanctions.
The sanctions that Washington has now chosen to lift were originally imposed against the government of Bashar al-Assad, which was actively fighting a takfiri terrorist invasion backed by the West and its regional allies. 
Syria’s economy, which was once considered middle-income among Arab states, has been decimated by the Western-backed war and the ensuing Daesh caliphate.  
The lifting of the terrorism designation is expected to gradually restore correspondent banking relations, ease financial transfers, and encourage international investment.