The United States ‘ response to the social upheaval appears uncertain because a new state is expected to emerge in Syria following a sudden revolution earlier this year. Rebel groups quickly overthrew Syria’s lifelong head, Bashar al-Assad, on December 8, 2024, sending the tyrant into exile in Russia.
President Joe Biden has stated that the US will be monitoring the rebel groups ‘ behavior and that they have a “grim history of extremism.” However, Donald Trump, the president-elect, has stated that the US may not engage in the immediate acquisition and its aftermath.
Jordan Tama, a professor of US international policy at American University, spoke with The Conversation US to better understand the role the US has played in Syria and what Assad’s abrupt demise may think for this connection.
What aspect of US military relationship with Syria is most crucial to be aware of?
US presence in Syria dates back to at least 2011, when the Arab Spring, a pro-democracy Middle East opposition movements, broke out and spread to Syria.
This prompted a brutal assault by the Arab government, led by Arab chief al-Assad. Some of the activists later joined rebel groups in Syria and fought the Assad state, leading to a civil war. The US instantly imposed severe economic sanctions on Syria’s government.
Some of the insurgent parties that were restraining the Assad government began receiving weapons from the US in 2013. By using biochemical weaponry against civilians, the Syrian army even crossed a “red range” that was established by then-President Barack Obama that season. Obama opted never to act despite being under pressure to maintain the dark line once Assad agreed to end Syria’s chemical weapons, a duty Assad did not fully live up to.
In 2014, the Islamic State group, often known as ISIS or IS, took over pieces of Syria. In 2015, the US immediately sent its troops to combat IS. By 2019, the US had seriously weakened IS, and the US scaled back its appearance. The US not accepted the Assad administration’s legitimacy, but it did become largely resigned to Assad’s law.
What does US presence look like at the moment?
In a number of methods, the US has continued to be involved in Syria. Second, it has about 900 soldiers deployed in some distant elements of Syria to stop ISIS from regrouping.
Next, the US has provided more than US$ 1 billion in military support to more modest armed organizations that the Assad authorities had fought against. The Syrian Democratic Forces, a military force led by the Kurds, a minority ethnic group in northeast Syria, has collaborated tightly with the US to combat ISIS while preserving its antagonism to Assad.
Third, the US has continued to impose stringent economic sanctions against the Arab state since 2011. And third, the US has been providing humanitarian aid for Syria suffering from the country’s 13-year legal conflict.
The US did not directly participate in the new uprising against the Arab government. Turkey, which seeks to undermine the Arab branch of another Kurdish organization known as the Kurdistan Workers ‘ Party, is primarily behind the Syrian rebel organizations that overthrew Assad. Turkey sights this organization as a threat to power its own Shiite population.
What does the US’s support for the Assad government think?
The US is still unsure as to whether this change will benefit the country. Nevertheless, Assad’s fall opens the possibility of increased relationships between the US and Syria, but that will hinge, in large part, on the new management in Syria.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or Units, the team that led the destroy of Assad, has ruled in an authentic sense in the area of Syria it has already been controlling.
The US is likewise concerned about ISIS, which is still ongoing. In recent days, the US has launched a number of attacks against ISIS targets in an effort to stop the organization from gaining floor following the fall of the Assad government.
What does Trump’s election suggest for the US relationship in Syria?
Trump has stated that Syria is a disaster and that it is not the fault of the United States. Trump’s experts persuaded him to maintain a small number of troops in Syria after they persuaded him to withdraw all of the remaining US troops from his first word. Trump likely didn’t care whether Syria’s new frontrunners act in an authoritarian sense or not.
Trump, however, is a staunch supporter of Israel, and it’s possible that he won’t be too upset if Israel launches attacks in Syria.
Under Trump, the US will likely not become a significant factor in shaping activities in Syria, but I believe it is in the country’s best interest to continue cooperating because what happens in Syria has an impact on the rest of the Middle East and, consequently, the US.
American University School of International Service provost associate teacher Jordan Tama
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