MESOP NEWS TOP OF THE AGENDA: WILL US STAY IN SYRIA & WITH KURDS? – WATCH EXPERT SAMPLER

Tillerson Indicates U.S. Military to Stay in Syria

The Syrian foreign ministry called the U.S. military presence in the country a violation of sovereignty on Thursday following a speech by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that laid out plans (VOA) for long-term military engagement there.

Tillerson said the Trump administration will not repeat “mistakes” made by the Obama administration in Iraq by pulling troops out of Syria (AP) too early, adding that the United States aims to assure the destruction of the self-proclaimed Islamic State. Additionally, he affirmed the continued U.S. stance on ousting the Syrian regime, saying “post-Assad leadership” is necessary for the country’s stability (Guardian). Tillerson said that recent reports that the United States is training a new force to be located near Syria’s border with Turkey have mischaracterized the effort (Al Jazeera).

ANALYSIS

“There are strong incentives for rebel leaders to embrace an extremist ideology in any country, Muslim or not, experiencing civil war with a history of corruption and few constraints on power. ISIS was one of the first groups to figure out this strategy, but others will follow,” Barbara F. Walter writes for Foreign Affairs.

“The main accomplishment of a small, open-ended, U.S. presence in Syria would be complicating Assad’s potential plans to retake territory from the PYD [the Kurdish Democratic Union Party], which is allied with the Americans but also an affiliate of the PKK, a U.S.-designated terrorist group,” Faysal Itani writes for War on the Rocks.

“For a long time the Syrian leader’s weakness was, paradoxically, his strength. So weak was he, that his downfall threatened the entire edifice that Russia and Iran sought to maintain in place in Syria,” Michael Young writes for the National.