US continues ‘national emergency’ to deal with Syria
The US has argued that the Assad regime is involved in “brutality and repression” and that its actions create instability in the region.
By SETH J. FRANTZMANA US military vehicle is pictured behind the Turkish border walls during a joint US-Turkey patrol in northern Syria, 2019(photo credit: MURAD SEZER/REUTERS)
US President Donald Trump has continued the “national emergency” under which the US views the Syrian regime, according to a White House statement on Thursday.The decision underpins Washington’s view that the Assad regime in Damascus, along with its “Russian and Iranian enablers,” continues brutal violence against people in Syria. The decision indicates the US will continue to challenge the Syrian regime this year, even though Trump sought to remove US forces from Syria last year.The US has called on the Assad regime to stop its “violent war” and enact a ceasefire. Syria has been in the midst of civil war for almost a decade. During that time, millions of Syrians became refugees, hundreds of thousands were killed, and half the country was displaced by fighting.In addition, groups such as ISIS carried out genocide, and the Turkish regime invaded Syria and ethnically cleansed Kurds from Afrin and other areas of northern Syria. The Syrian regime has carried out chemical-weapons attacks against the opposition and executions of opponents.The US statement said Syria should negotiate a political transition in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2254. The US said it would examine whether Syria has complied with reforms to decide whether to continue the national emergency in the future.Washington continues to view the Syrian regime as a threat to US national security. It says the regime supports terrorism and references its previous occupation of Lebanon, which ended in 2005. It also says the regime undermined efforts to stabilize Iraq.The US has argued that the Assad regime is involved in “brutality and repression” and that its actions create instability in the region. Trump’s decision highlights the regime’s role in chemical-weapons abuses and supporting terrorism. Trump ordered airstrikes on Syria in 2017 and 2018.In recent years, the US has shifted its policies regarding Syria. In the past, the US appeared to want to remove the Assad regime and funded and supported armed opposition through Jordan and Turkey. The Trump administration ended that support. US policy in Syria shifted during the Iran deal in 2015 to fighting ISIS rather than the Assad regime.In addition, the US changed policies again in 2018, as US national security adviser John Bolton said Iranian forces must leave Syria. Then the US shifted again in October 2019 to open the door for a Turkish invasion that backed Syrian extremists to attack former US partners among the Syrian Democratic Forces. The US sought to back Turkey’s role in Syria even as Turkey was working closely with Iran and Russia. Then the US claimed it would stay in Syria to protect the oil and enable what was left of the SDF to become subcontractors to jail ISIS detainees.The continuation of the emergency can help underpin continued US actions against the Assad regime. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo still wants Iran to leave Syria. The US has supported Israel’s efforts against Iran and works closely with Israel on Syria policy. The US continues to run a military base called Al-Tanf near the Jordanian border in Syria.
