A Path Forward for Syria, Part One
The Syrian Civil War is over. It is a bitter pill to swallow for those in the West who hoped all the years of sacrifice, suffering, and chaos endured by the Syrian people would ultimately end in regime change.
While we grapple with our whiplash, courtesy of the consequences of a sudden U.S. withdrawal, we must remember that we sit at a delicate and dangerous time for the future of the Syrian people.
Where do we go from here?
While many in the West are uncomfortable ceding control and working with Vladimir Putin and the Assad Regime, that is currently the path that allows us to protect the maximum number of people. Russia is the ultimate powerbroker in modern Syria and can make or break any path.
Through some miracle of fate, many of the worst-case scenarios that might’ve occurred in the immediate aftermath of U.S. withdrawal have yet to materialize, due in large part to the decisions made by Russian President Vladimir Putin. For example, he made it a point not to let ISIS prisoners escape en masse in the wake of Turkey’s chaos, he made sure neither Turkey nor the Assad Regime engaged in immediate ethnic cleansing of the Syrian Kurdish population, and he remains committed to helping Syria create a new constitution under the guidance of the United Nations that follows international norms.
While a resurgent ISIS remains a danger, it was a positive signal that Russia allowed United States special operations forces to utilize Russian air space in Syria after the withdrawal of U.S. forces in order to carry out an “operation that resulted in the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.” It is only through such continued cooperation and operations that fears of a resurgent ISIS will become obsolete.
Only time will tell if these developments are part of a broader emerging pattern of responsible Russian handling of Syria or not. This author remains cautiously optimistic.
