I'm John Batchew with my colleagues Bill Rajo, the Foundation for the Defense of Democracy,

and Ambassador Saina Connie of the Hudson Institute.

BBC headline, get to London here.

Trump's meeting with Shara, unthinkable just months ago, boost Syrians hopes.

Donald Trump has said his administration,

writes the BBC, is now exploring the possibility of normalizing relations with Syria. His comments coming shortly after he met Syria's interim president, Ahmed al-Shara, whose forces ended the

decades-long dictatorship of the Assad family.

The photograph is everything, but it's also important to say it takes place in Riyadh.

Mr. Trump is shaking the hands of a bearded youth in a good suit, and standing next to them is

Muhammad bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia,

who is blessing the event with a smile.

Bill, I begin with you.

Does a tagger change its stripes?

What about Al-Shara?

What can we say of him now?

In my estimation, no, John.

Look, you don't, we wouldn't forgive a pedophile. We wouldn't put a

pedophile in charge of a, in charge of a daycare. We wouldn't give an axe murder. The keys to

a cutlery shop. These are people that we, in our society, we wouldn't forgive. But if you're a mass

murdering terrorist, some reason, you could shave your beard, trim your hair,

and put on a suit and, you know, say mealy-mouthed things.

And people forget about the thousands upon thousands,

...