Despite strike, US has lost the long game in Syria
The United States, together with its British and French allies, has struck Syria, but this tactical move does not change the strategic picture: The die is cast for a rapid end to the US mission in Syria.
With it goes the chances of a peaceful and sustainable resolution to that country’s brutal seven-year civil war. The chemical attack allegedly carried out last week by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces in Douma, the last rebel-held town in the Eastern Ghouta region, shows just how dangerous that prospect is for Syria and the world.
US President Donald Trump’s bluster in the wake of the chemical attack exposes the incoherence and contradictions of his approach, as well as his lack of any real strategy in Syria. Ordering an attack or two against Assad’s forces, as he has just done, will neither alter the balance of power there, nor improve Trump’s position in the war-torn country, let alone the Middle East in general.
To be sure, Trump’s top military advisers have persuaded him to keep in place the 2,000 military personnel currently stationed in Syria. But he has already limited America’s objectives there to eliminating the small remaining Islamic State (ISIS) presence – an effort that should take about six months.
In constraining America’s commitment, Trump has forfeited the opportunity to help shape Syria’s future, reinforcing the widespread perception – which has taken hold among friends and foes alike – that US global leadership is in retreat. He has also disregarded Syria’s ongoing humanitarian crisis, the worst since World War II.
http://www.atimes.com/trump-syria-threat-region-wide-war/
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