By Natalie Armbruster
Syria has found itself on the doorstep of its twelfth year at war. Eleven years ago, on March 15, 2011, Syrians took to the streets in Damascus to protest the Syrian government. These protests would go on to spark the conflict that consumed Syria– leaving 22 million Syrians displaced and hundreds of thousands killed according to a recent UN Human Rights Council report. Now, an entire generation of Syrian children knows nothing but war.
The U.S. currently stations 900 troops in a pocket of Northeast Syria, as well as a zone along the Iraqi/Jordanian border. The U.S. claimed the mission was to eliminate ISIS’ territorial caliphate. However, this objective was achieved three years ago in March 2019. Despite preaching the end of endless wars, the U.S. insists on staying in Syria – to protect the people, to counter Russia, etc. However, the U.S. presence achieves neither of these objectives and, in practice, we aren’t helping. We are prolonging the inevitable, just as we did for over a decade in Afghanistan.
This piece was originally published in 19FortyFive on March 25, 2022. Read more HERE.