The longer Syria remains in a state of anarchy, the more Israel— and the US— will have to monitor the border 24/7
Israel is taking no chances following the startling collapse of the brutal Assad regime that has ruled Syria since 1971. The United States has skin in the game, too, with some 900 combat troops stationed in Syria backing the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces to combat what remains of ISIS. Still, it has done little, with President Biden having all but checked out of the White House.
President-elect Donald Trump is sticking to his campaign promises to keep the US out of foreign entanglements. “Syria is a mess, but it’s not our friend,” he tweeted. Reverting to all caps, he added: “the united states should have nothing to do with it. this is not our fight. let it play out. do not get involved!”
Sitting on the sidelines, watching fanatical radicals dictate the pace and the outcome, may prove deadly and detrimental to both America’s and Israel’s long-term interests.
“The US needs to get ahead of this,” contends Damascus-born Hazem Alghabra, founder and president of Frontiers Consultants, a Washington–based public relations and crisis management firm, and a ten-year State Department veteran who worked as a public affairs coordinator and advisor to the Bush and Obama administrations.
Create a free account to keep reading.
