Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa met with the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the US House of Representatives, Brian Mast, who is considered one of the people most reluctant to cancel the “Caesar Act” without conditions.
A member of the Syrian-American Coalition for Peace and Prosperity, Abdul Hafeez Sharaf, posted a photo of the meeting on his Facebook account, and wrote that “the lengthy meeting led to a change in Mast’s mood and a significant softening of his position after he had been the main obstructionist of repealing the Caesar Act to almost supporting the repeal of the Caesar Act.”
He reported that Mast said after the meeting: “It is time to bring peace and give Syria a real chance.”
Al-Sharaa’s meeting with Mast sparked great interaction, as activist Qutaiba Yassin wrote on Facebook: “One of the important meetings that Al-Sharaa held in the United States was his meeting with Brian Mast, who is considered the most prominent obstacle and opponent of lifting the full sanctions on Syria. This meeting was held at midnight, and was coordinated by the Syrian friend and economist Tariq Namo and his wife, Jasmine Namo. The meeting was positive, and I knew that he left without what he entered into.”
It is noteworthy that Mast was born on July 10, 1980 in the state of Michigan, and belongs to the Republican Party, and has represented the state of Florida in the United States House of Representatives since 2017.
He joined the US Army in 2000, where he served as a combat engineer, then moved to Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) with the elite Joint Special Operations Command unit.
On September 19, 2010, while he was in the Kandahar Valley in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, he was exposed to an explosive device (IED) explosion, which led to the amputation of both his legs and the loss of his left finger. He then retired from service after about 12 years.
During his service, he received several medals, including the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart Medal, and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal.
The position on Syria
Mast previously announced his position on Syria, as he prepared and participated in the resolution “H. Res. 1165”, which condemns the regime of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and its supporters for committing war crimes and genocide in Syria.
He also opposed retracting the Caesar Act, which imposes sanctions on the Syrian regime, stressing that the security and political conditions in Syria make the matter complicated.
