A soldier loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad's forces is seen in Quneitra, Syria. Omar Sanadiki/Reuters
Michael Hirsch, Foreign Policy: The problem with America's Syria policy isn't Trump. It's Syria.
* Trump's call to pull out of Syria and then wavering on his decision is not unique — Obama occassionally sounded and acted just as confused about Syria.
* This is because, for Washington, the Syrian civil war is a no-win situation.
* Backing the rebels means potentially supporting radicals who could harbor terrorists. Supporting the force capable of defeating the rebels means backing Assad.
President Donald Trump's apparent confusion about what he wants the United States to do in Syria—one week he's pulling out and the next he's not—is hardly unique.
During his entire second term, President Barack Obama occasionally sounded and acted almost as confused about Syria as his successor has.
There's a reason why two such disparate presidents have suffered this common dilemma: For Washington, the Syrian civil war is a no-win situation.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: Both President Obama and President Trump have had their share of criticisms when it comes to Syria. But Syria has been a mess since the Assad family started ruling the country decades ago, and it will be a mess in the years to come. As for U.S. policy .... if there was ever a no-win situation, it is this one. On a positive note, the U.S. withdrawal has begun .... The US has started pulling out of Syria after a week of chaotic, confusing messages (Business Insider).
2 comments:
The article completely ignored Turkey's role in Syria as well as Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Israel. They get a vote on what happens in Syria as well as the Russians and Iranians. Turkey is also in a no-win scenario. Erdogan has been talking big about cleansing the Kurds from northern Syria. Since Dec 21, the Kurds have taken the chance to mend fences that were never broken with Assad, all while still enjoying US protection. Erdogan backs down he looks like a fool. Erdogan invades and he has a major war on his hands without any support whatsoever from the USA or NATO. His opponents will be battle tested, Kurds well supplied and with the help of Assad and quite possibly Iran and Russia.
As for Trump, Syria has never been a country of vital interest to the USA nor will it in the future. She has been hostile to US interests for many generations. We cleaned up Assad's eastern half for him and we'll get no thanks. To the extent the pause in withdrawal has given the Kurds time to make nice with Assad, they have been protecting themselves. In short, time to pull the US out of Syria.
If Lebanon is of interest to the US then Syria is.
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