Alex Zerden

It's the “Huffin’ and Puffin” Edition!

On this week's Rational Security, @sranderson.bsky.social‬ spoke to @lapatina.bsky.social‬, Eric Ciaramella and @alexzerden.bsky.social‬ about the Trump administration's Syria policy change, Ukraine drone attacks on Russia's long range bombers, and more.

#syria #sanctions #amlcft #ofac #fincen #compliance #regulation | Alex Zerden 🌍 What's next for Syria sanctions? Thank you to the Atlantic Council GeoEconomics Center, Kimberly Donovan, Maia Nikoladze, and Lize de Kruijf for publishing my latest analysis of recent U.S. Depa...

What's next for #Syria #sanctions?

www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

After partial relief, what’s next for Syria sanctions? Syria remains a high-risk jurisdiction due to years of conflict, endemic corruption, state institution collapse, narcotrafficking of captagon, insufficient anti-money laundering efforts, and inadequat...

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Significant works remains ahead to responsibly calibrate restrictive economic measures to achieve US foreign policy goals and support positive economic tools to allow the Syrian people to benefit from this dramatic change in US policy.
www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/econog...

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The USG should be commended for acting swiftly to update sanctions and other authorities to better reflect the current realities on the ground.

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- Develop a policy for using and supporting partners with positive economic statecraft tools such as technical assistance to rehabilitate the financial sector, in addition to licensing, waiving, and removing restrictive economic measures.

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- Provide guidance, including frequently asked questions, for the Caesar Act waiver and the FinCEN Section 311 exceptive relief, as well as interagency policy guidance on the roadmap for further relief.

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- Work with allies and partners to calibrate the United Nations sanctions to current risks.

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- Work with Congress to review the statutory sanctions in place against Syria to ensure that they reflect the fall of the Assad regime and current political developments.

3/ The administration can publish a memo by the DOJ to articulate the administration’s prosecutorial policy involving alleged material support to FTOs operating in Syria. While novel, such guidance would provide greater legal clarity, especially for humanitarian organizations operating in Syria.

-Provide policy clarity on the outstanding restrictive economic measures and legal prohibitions related to the state sponsor of terrorism and foreign terrorist organization (FTO) designations.

After partial relief, what’s next for Syria sanctions? Syria remains a high-risk jurisdiction due to years of conflict, endemic corruption, state institution collapse, narcotrafficking of captagon, insufficient anti-money laundering efforts, and inadequat...

What's next for #Syria sanctions?

Thanks to the @atlanticcouncil.bsky.social GeoEconomics Center for publishing my latest analysis:

www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/econog...

Some recommendations for US action:

Today President Trump announced that he will order "the cessation of sanctions against Syria."

After the fall of the Assad regime, @sranderson.bsky.social and @alexzerden.bsky.social explained the current sanctions regime that target HTS, as a terrorist organization, and Syria.

"'Chokepoints' serves as an essential guide for some of the key battles in U.S. economic warfare over the past two decades. It also communicates a cautionary tale about the limitations of the U.S. economic national security toolkit."

@alexzerden.bsky.social reviews Edward Fishman's new book.

Good work on web of syria sanctions in work by @delaneysimon.bsky.social and @crisisgroup.org colleagues foreignaffairs.com/afghanistan/do…

And @alexzerden.bsky.social Scott anderson @lawfare.bsky.social

lawfaremedia.org/article/our-ma���

Our Man in Damascus? Sanctions and Governance in Post-Assad Syria An overview of sanctions challenges, questions regarding HTS’s terrorist organization status, and a few recommendations for U.S. policy toward Syria.

In Syria, HTS has established a transitional government, but its designation as a heavily sanctioned terrorist organization complicates U.S. policy.

@sranderson.bsky.social and @alexzerden.bsky.social dive deep into the economic restrictions that target HTS and Syria and how to move forward.

Thank you to @sranderson.bsky.social and @lawfare.bsky.social for publishing our analysis on 45 years of economic measures against the Assad regime + terrorist groups/narcos in #Syria and what policymakers in the US can do to address humanitarian needs in a very constrained policy space