On the 8th, in the Syrian city of Homs, a citizen carrying a child on their shoulders expressed joy at the news of the rebels seizing the capital Damascus. Homs/EPA Yonhap News.
U.S. President Joe Biden welcomed the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria while being cautious about the possibility of another hostile regime taking its place, expressing concerns over the fluid situation. The U.S. military sent a warning message through large-scale airstrikes on Islamic State (IS) targets in Syria.
In a speech on the Syrian situation on the 8th (local time), Biden stated, “Finally, the Assad regime has fallen,” and expressed his welcoming stance. He described the removal of the Assad regime by the rebels as a “fundamentally just act” and stated that “a historic opportunity has come for the long-suffering Syrians to build a better future for their proud country.”
Biden also noted that “for the first time, neither Russia nor Iran nor Hezbollah can protect the despicable Syrian regime,” attributing this to the direct results of the impacts delivered as Ukraine and Israel exercised their right to self-defense with U.S. support. This was a self-congratulatory remark that the weakening of Russia and Hezbollah on other fronts helped bring down the Syrian regime.
However, Biden simultaneously noted that “this is also a moment of danger and uncertainty,” and warned that “some of the rebels who toppled Assad also have a dark record of terrorism and human rights abuses.” This appears to reference the strongest rebel group, ‘Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’ (HTS), which is designated by the U.S. as a terrorist organization and has past ties with al-Qaeda. Biden also stressed the need to recognize the potential for the Islamic State to “exploit the vacuum to regain credibility and establish a safe haven.”
The U.S. concerns regarding the post-Assad uncertainty stem from the possibility of a hostile regime re-emerging or the resurgence of the Islamic State. The New York Times reported that the U.S. warned Syrian rebel forces through the Turkish government not to align with the Islamic State.
Contrary to U.S. concerns, if the rebel forces expel the Russian military, it would be strategically beneficial to the U.S. Syria hosts a Russian airbase, and it is home to Russia’s only naval base on the Mediterranean. The Russian Air Force has been conducting airstrikes against the rebels in support of the Assad regime.
Biden disclosed that, aside from the Assad regime’s collapse, the U.S. military has been conducting airstrikes on Islamic State targets in Syria. The U.S. Central Command stated that bombers, fighters, and attack aircraft have been deployed to strike 75 targets dozens of times. A U.S. government official also stated that there are no plans to withdraw the 900 U.S. troops stationed in Syria for the purpose of eliminating the Islamic State.
However, predicting how U.S. policy on Syria will change after President-elect Donald Trump takes office in six weeks is difficult. Trump claimed the day before that “the U.S. should stay out of Syria” and argued against involving in a civil war.
Washington/Yvonne Young, Special Correspondent.