Retired Gen. David Petraeus, former head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa shared the stage at the Concordia Summit in New York City on Monday.
Both men acknowledged it was a strange turn of events in their lives, as not so long ago Petraeus commanded American forces in Iraq and Sharaa was an al-Qaeda lieutenant fighting for control of the country. Sharaa went on to lead al-Qaeda’s forces in Syria during the civil war, parted ways with al-Qaeda in 2016, and ultimately led his revamped insurgent alliance to victory against the Syrian dictatorship in December 2024.
In fact, Sharaa laughed when Petraeus pointed out that the Syrian president was effectively his prisoner in the mid-2000s, after Sharaa was captured by American forces.
“The fact is, we were on different sides when I was commanding the surge in Iraq. You were of course detained by U.S. forces for five years when I was the four-star there,” Petraeus recalled.
“Please help us understand how you got from al-Qaeda in Iraq 20 years ago to where you are today, Syria’s head of state on stage in New York City,” Petraeus asked.
“It is good that we moved from war to dialogue. Someone who went through war is one who knows best the importance of peace,” Sharaa replied, speaking through a translator.
“We cannot judge the past by the rules of today, and we cannot judge today by the rules of the past,” he added, claiming the “phase” of his career that involved fighting for terrorists and insurgents was over.
Petraeus described Sharaa’s “trajectory from insurgent leader to head of state” as “one of the most dramatic political transformations in recent Middle Eastern history.”
President Donald Trump praised Sharaa as a “young, attractive guy” with a “very strong past” as a “fighter” after they met in Saudi Arabia in May. Petraeus likewise said meeting Sharaa filled him with “enormous hope.”
“Your vision is powerful and clear. Your demeanor is very impressive as well,” Petraeus told Sharaa.
“We obviously hope for your success, inshallah, because at the end of the day, your success is our success,” Petraeus added. Inshallah is a Muslim phrase that means “as Allah wills.”
Petraeus, like Trump, took a very soft touch when reminiscing about Sharaa’s career as a “fighter” by not dwelling on who he was fighting for, or what kind of fighting he was doing.
Sharaa, working under the alias Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, fought for al-Qaeda in Iraq before taking command of al-Qaeda’s franchise in Syria, Jabhat al-Nusra, also known as the Nusra Front. The Nusra Front broke away from al-Qaeda and renamed itself Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). The rebranded group said it would focus on Syrian nationalism and overthrowing dictator Bashar Assad, rather than serving al-Qaeda’s worldwide terror network.
HTS finally managed to knock Assad off his throne in December 2024 and Sharaa became “interim president” in January 2025. He has placed a heavy emphasis on winning support from the United States and the Western world for Syrian reconstruction by promising to run a more inclusive, less brutal government than Assad.
The Trump administration placed a bet on his desire and ability to deliver by lifting sanctions against Syria in July, and now Sharaa is in New York to attend the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) this week – the first time Syria’s leader has attended the assembly in six decades.
Sharaa said that when he led HTS to overthrow Assad, he believed he was “protecting and defending people and defending human rights – the women, the children – from all the injustice that was taking place in the region.”
“Perhaps there were some mistakes,” he allowed. Later, he argued that the chaotic nature of the Syrian civil war and its many factions demanded rough tactics to build a coalition that could defeat the Assad regime, which excelled at “dividing the people.” He made a point of mentioning that his coalition had to fight “Russia, Iran, Hezbollah,” and other factions in order to capture Damascus.
Sharaa told Petraeus his mission in Syria today is “much more difficult than yours in Iraq” because Syria “faced massive destruction” during the 14-year war to overthrow Assad.
“We are focusing on economic development and building capabilities,” he said. “Ministers are chosen from business leaders and international experts who understand both the global and national economy.”
“Syrians, by nature, are people of work and trade. So please lift the sanctions and see what we can do,” he said, noting that Trump suspended U.S. sanctions, but Congress must act to eliminate them permanently.
“The sanctions should not remain, because they place a burden on the people, who have already suffered from the oppression of the former regime,” he said.
“Our priority is achieving security and stability by unifying the Syrian people and land, while advancing economic development,” he pledged.
Sharaa blamed recent bouts of violent instability, such as attacks against Alawite Muslims and the Druze, on “chaos” created by the Assad regime and its holdouts. He also conceded that some of his own government’s actions in responding to those crises were “mistaken,” promising thorough investigations of each matter.
Sharaa suggested the Assad regime did not leave him much in the way of an investigatory apparatus to review government errors, so it was taking some time to assemble the necessary “councils.”
On the delicate matter of security discussions with Israel, Sharaa promised that “Syria will not be a threat to the region,” but he also insisted on Syrian “sovereignty.” Israel has conducted airstrikes into Syrian territory several times since the fall of Assad, including strikes on Syrian government forces when they were marching against the Druze in July.
“Syria needs reform, needs rebuilding, and that rebuilding will take a long time. Therefore, it is important to keep calm and stable relationships with the international community, and the regional community as well,” he said.
Sharaa said that, while he was open to discussing Israel’s security interests, and he felt some optimism about the progress of those talks, he was not ready to consider joining the Abraham Accords, President Trump’s initiative to normalize relations between Israel and Arab countries.
“Syria is different, as those that are part of the Abraham Accords are not Israel’s neighbors. Syria, as a neighbor, has been subjected to more than a thousand Israeli raids, strikes and incursions from the Golan Heights, and many have been killed,” he argued.
Sharaa also pointed to “huge anger over what’s going on in Gaza” as an obstacle to normalizing relations with Israel, and accused the Israelis of violating peace agreements with their other neighboring states, Egypt and Jordan. He spoke of his government’s need to maintain “respect” among other regional powers, and suggested a permanent solution to the dispute over the Golan Heights could go some way toward making further talks with Israel possible.
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