US President Barack Obama’s Syria policy has been known more for its twists and turns than steadfastness. The president announced on Friday that he had ordered several dozen Special Operations troops into the Kurdish-controlled territory in northern Syria to help local fighters who are battling the Islamic State. The decision is a U-turn from his earlier position that the US would not send ground troops into Syria. And this is a U-turn that has been forced by Russia and the latest, unexpected turn of events in Syria. If the US had acted earlier, at the right time, the Syrian civil war would have taken a different turn – perhaps one that would have led to the ouster of President Bashar Al Assad. However, while the deployment is small in number (it is fewer than 50), it is large in importance for a president who was extremely unwilling to get involved in this conflict.
Elaborating on Obama’s announcement, Secretary of State John Kerry said the American forces would only fight Islamic State militants and would not become involved in the country’s long-running civil war. Kerry said the US policy was clear – the terrorist group must be defeated. He would not rule out a further US escalation of the fight, saying he could not elaborate.
The US troop presence is too small to change the course of the war against IS in Syria, and several regional experts as well as some of Obama’s political allies say the small number of troops may be insufficient to defeat the fast-moving militants. However, Washington should be able to offer more clarity on its future plans – whether it will be increasing its presence or just be content with the current level.
Meanwhile, the newly formed US-backed Syrian rebel alliance yesterday launched an offensive against Islamic State in the northeast province of Hasaka. It was the first declared operation by the Democratic Forces of Syria, which joins together a US-backed Kurdish militia and several Syrian Arab rebel groups, since it announced its
formation earlier this month.
While defeating the IS is certainly a priority, Arab countries are looking forward to a greater involvement of Washington to oust Bashar Al Assad whose hands have been strengthened by the presence of Russian troops in Syria. What Syria needs is a coordinated strategy from the world powers that would see the expulsion of Assad. Syria will never achieve peace with Assad in power. But Russia and Iran are making this solution difficult.
However hard Obama tries to keep away from the conflicts in the Middle East, especially Syria, he is pulled fiercely into it, forcing him to change his stance at the last moment.
US President Barack Obama’s Syria policy has been known more for its twists and turns than steadfastness. The president announced on Friday that he had ordered several dozen Special Operations troops into the Kurdish-controlled territory in northern Syria to help local fighters who are battling the Islamic State. The decision is a U-turn from his earlier position that the US would not send ground troops into Syria. And this is a U-turn that has been forced by Russia and the latest, unexpected turn of events in Syria. If the US had acted earlier, at the right time, the Syrian civil war would have taken a different turn – perhaps one that would have led to the ouster of President Bashar Al Assad. However, while the deployment is small in number (it is fewer than 50), it is large in importance for a president who was extremely unwilling to get involved in this conflict.
Elaborating on Obama’s announcement, Secretary of State John Kerry said the American forces would only fight Islamic State militants and would not become involved in the country’s long-running civil war. Kerry said the US policy was clear – the terrorist group must be defeated. He would not rule out a further US escalation of the fight, saying he could not elaborate.
The US troop presence is too small to change the course of the war against IS in Syria, and several regional experts as well as some of Obama’s political allies say the small number of troops may be insufficient to defeat the fast-moving militants. However, Washington should be able to offer more clarity on its future plans – whether it will be increasing its presence or just be content with the current level.
Meanwhile, the newly formed US-backed Syrian rebel alliance yesterday launched an offensive against Islamic State in the northeast province of Hasaka. It was the first declared operation by the Democratic Forces of Syria, which joins together a US-backed Kurdish militia and several Syrian Arab rebel groups, since it announced its
formation earlier this month.
While defeating the IS is certainly a priority, Arab countries are looking forward to a greater involvement of Washington to oust Bashar Al Assad whose hands have been strengthened by the presence of Russian troops in Syria. What Syria needs is a coordinated strategy from the world powers that would see the expulsion of Assad. Syria will never achieve peace with Assad in power. But Russia and Iran are making this solution difficult.
However hard Obama tries to keep away from the conflicts in the Middle East, especially Syria, he is pulled fiercely into it, forcing him to change his stance at the last moment.
