WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump mentioned Saturday that the United States ought to keep away from partaking militarily in Syria amid an opposition offensive that has reached the capital’s suburbs, declaring in a social media publish: “THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT”.
Trump’s first prolonged feedback on the rebels’ dramatic push got here as he was in Paris for the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral. He argued that Syrian President Bashar Assad didn’t deserve U.S. help to stay in energy.
Assad’s authorities has been supported by the Russian and Iranian militaries, together with Hezbollah and different militias allied with Iran, in a 13-year conflict in opposition to opposition teams in search of his overthrow. The conflict, which started as a principally peaceable rebellion in 2011 in opposition to Assad household rule, has killed half one million individuals, fractured Syria and attracted greater than half a dozen international militaries and militias.
The insurgents are led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which the United States has designated a terrorist group and which it says has ties to al-Qaida, though the group has since damaged ties with al-Qaeda. So far the insurgents have encountered little resistance from the Syrian military.
The Biden administration has instructed that their fast advance towards Damascus reveals how distracted these international locations are by the conflict in Ukraine and different conflicts, however has mentioned the United States doesn’t help the offensive and has not instructed that the U.S. army intervene .
The United States has about 900 troops in Syria, together with U.S. forces working with Kurdish allies within the opposition-controlled northeast to forestall any resurgence of the Islamic State group.
Gen. Bryan Fenton, head of U.S. Special Operations Command, mentioned he wouldn’t like to take a position on how the upheavals in Syria would have an effect on the U.S. army’s footprint within the nation. “It’s nonetheless too early to inform,” he mentioned.
What would not change is the give attention to disrupting ISIS operations in Syria and defending U.S. troops, Fenton mentioned Saturday throughout a panel at an annual gathering of nationwide safety officers, protection firms and lawmakers on the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California.
Syrian opposition activists and regional officers have however been watching intently for any indication from both the Biden or future Trump administrations on how the United States would deal with the rebels’ sudden advance in opposition to Assad.
Robert Wilkie, Trump’s protection transition chief and former secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, mentioned throughout the identical panel that the collapse of “Assad’s murderous regime” could be a serious blow to Iran’s energy.
The United Nations particular envoy for Syria known as on Saturday for pressing talks in Geneva to make sure an “orderly political transition” in Syria.
In his publish, Trump mentioned that Russia “is so dedicated to Ukraine” that it “appears incapable of stopping this literal march by Syria, a rustic it has protected for years.” He mentioned the rebels might maybe pressure Assad from energy.
The president-elect condemned the general U.S. dealing with of the conflict however mentioned defeating Assad and Russian forces may be for the most effective.
“Syria is a catastrophe, however it isn’t our good friend, AND THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET HIM PLAY. DON’T GET INVOLVED!” he wrote in Saturday’s publish.
An influential Syrian opposition activist in Washington, Mouaz Moustafa, interrupted a briefing for reporters to learn Trump’s publish and appeared to choke up. He mentioned Trump’s declaration that the United States ought to keep out of the battle is the most effective end result Syrians aligned in opposition to Assad might hope for.
The rebels freed Assad’s authorities political prisoners from prisons as they superior by Syria, capturing cities. Moustafa promised reporters on Saturday that opposition forces could be alert to any US detainees amongst them and would do every thing they may to guard them.
Moustafa mentioned amongst them is Austin Tice, an American journalist lacking for greater than a decade and suspected of being held captive by Assad.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham renounced al-Qaeda in 2016 and has labored to rebrand itself, cracking down on some Islamic extremist teams and fighters in its territory and portraying itself as a protector of Christians and different spiritual minorities.
While the United States and the United Nations proceed to designate it as a terrorist group, the primary Trump administration informed lawmakers that the United States was now not concentrating on the group’s chief, Abu Mohammed al-Golani.
Associated Press author Tara Copp in Simi Valley, California, contributed to this report.
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