The commander of US Central Command, CENTCOM, Adm. Charles Bradford Cooper II, delivered testimony before the US Senate Armed Services Committee, outlining the contours of US policy toward Syria after the former regime and describing the country as the “center of gravity” in the fight against the Islamic State group.
According to the text of the testimony, delivered before the US Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday, 14 May, US Central Command considers the “post-Assad phase” in Syria, alongside developments in Gaza and Lebanon, a major shift in the regional landscape.
The document said the region is passing through a “pivotal moment” that could reshape the Middle East toward a model based on trade and stability instead of chaos.
“Pragmatic” Cooperation, But the Threat Has Not Ended
The testimony revealed that the United States is expanding its “pragmatic” cooperation with Syria’s new government on counterterrorism, noting that Damascus officially joined the international coalition against the Islamic State group in November 2025.
At the same time, however, the document stressed that large parts of Syria remain outside the state’s full control, and that external support remains necessary to prevent the group’s return.
The testimony said the Islamic State group has lost its territorial control in Iraq and Syria since 2019, and that the number of its attacks has fallen by 70% since 2023. But it warned that the group remains capable of carrying out attacks, citing an attack in Palmyra (Homs, central Syria) on 13 December 2025 that killed two US personnel and a civilian interpreter.
It also said the withdrawal of the Syrian Democratic Forces under pressure from the Syrian government led to the dispersal of a number of displaced people from al-Hol camp, which Washington considers a security risk that could contribute to reactivating the group.
Washington’s Vision for a New Syria
The testimony described Syria as the “center of gravity” in the fight against the Islamic State group, and said Syria’s stability and preventing its return to civil war are essential conditions for preventing the reconstitution of extremist organizations.
It also affirmed that the United States continues to engage with the Syrian government to “support a settlement that preserves dignity in the post-Assad phase,” and to work on building Syrian security capacities through regional partners.
The testimony revealed that Washington is dealing with the new Syrian government as a fait accompli, amid US recognition of direct or indirect security cooperation with Damascus on counterterrorism.
The document also showed that the Syrian file is being presented primarily through the lens of preventing the return of the Islamic State group, with a clear link between Syria’s stability, regional security, and US domestic security.
From Estrangement to a “Fait Accompli”
The path of cooperation between Washington and Damascus was not a sudden development, but the culmination of a strategic shift in US policy after the fall of the former regime in December 2024.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had confirmed in a joint press conference with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on 15 February that America chose to work with the Syrian government and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa instead of leaving Syria to slide into “fragmentation and chaos.”
He stressed that this course, despite its difficulty, remains the most realistic option to prevent the return of the Islamic State group and avoid a long-term civil war.
Previous Meeting in Damascus
Adm. Cooper had visited Damascus on 12 September 2025 and met Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the People’s Palace. At the time, the two sides discussed prospects for cooperation in the political and military fields, in the first visit of its kind by a US Central Command commander to the Syrian capital.
CENTCOM said on X at the time that Cooper and US envoy Thomas Barrack thanked al-Sharaa for his support in confronting the Islamic State group in Syria, and affirmed that eliminating the group’s threat in Syria would reduce the risk of an attack by the group on US territory.
They also praised Syria’s role in supporting efforts to recover US citizens from Syria, and affirmed their commitment to continuing efforts that support US objectives in the Middle East, including negotiations on integrating various Syrian armed factions into the Syrian army.
The Syrian presidency said at the time that the meeting reflected a positive atmosphere and a shared commitment to strengthening the strategic partnership and expanding channels of communication between Damascus and Washington at various levels.
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