"As U.S. Exits Syria, Mideast Faces a Post-American Era"
American soldiers near Manbij, Syria, in February. President Trump has ordered them to leave. Credit Mauricio Lima for The New York Times
Summary
US involvement in Syria and the Middle East has been long standing and complicated,
with little change in the recent years. President Trump’s long-awaited plan to withdraw
from Syria is said to have begun this past Friday, with equipment removal. The US has
been involved in the Middle East since the end of the cold war, thus the plan to withdraw
troops from Syria, could spark some unavoidable chaos. In recent years, the US and its allies
have been focused on the defeat of ISIS and other terrorist organizations. Through the Obama
and now Trump administrations, although two very different styles, both agree that the regional
powers should take a greater role in governing their own region. The US is now less dependent
on the Middle East in that it is able to get oil domestically. Many see the US’s presence growing
less important as said by Gary Sick, a Middle East scholar at Columbia University “Things are
pretty chaotic as they are, and I don’t see them getting better with our presence and I don’t see
them getting worse if we’re not there”.
On the other hand, some people argue that the US presence does have value in the
Middle East and that it can make a difference to overall stability in the region. As the US begins
to plan to withdraw, many other problems could possibly arise. Such as a scramble between Iran,
Russia, and Turkey to fill the gap left by the US in the area or regional powers, now left to their
own devices, could make the situation worse as well. Many fear what occurred when the US
believing the terrorist group was defeated, the action had been so swift. This resulted in the group
rebuilding and growing more powerful, ultimately requiring the US and its troops presence back
in the region. Thus, a final quote from Mr. Haass of the Council of Foreign Relations addresses the
idea of a long-term approach to the Mideast, “We have got to find a middle ground between trying
to transform the Middle East and increasingly walking away from the Middle East”.
Connection to World History and/or International Relations:
This article/topic relates to an event that will be discussed this year in a later unit, the impact
of withdrawing US troops from Iraq and now Syria. The action of removing troops from the Middle
East has been a recurring topic and will continue to be so in the near future. The US and its troops
do impact the area where they are, whether it is a positive or negative impact depends on each specific
place. Like we will discuss in class, the region or country is impacted in many different ways. Human
rights and democracy are among the most prevalent ways the US could impact an area, thus removing
Americans presence could result in a downfall in both of those areas, as seen in Iraq. Iraq resulted in
US troops needing to reenter the region, almost like taking a step back rather than forward.
of withdrawing US troops from Iraq and now Syria. The action of removing troops from the Middle
East has been a recurring topic and will continue to be so in the near future. The US and its troops
do impact the area where they are, whether it is a positive or negative impact depends on each specific
place. Like we will discuss in class, the region or country is impacted in many different ways. Human
rights and democracy are among the most prevalent ways the US could impact an area, thus removing
Americans presence could result in a downfall in both of those areas, as seen in Iraq. Iraq resulted in
US troops needing to reenter the region, almost like taking a step back rather than forward.
A fighter with the United States-backed Syrian Democratic Forces near Manbij.Credit Mauricio Lima for The New York Times
Reaction:
This is a very heavy and loaded topic, the US and its involvement in Syria. I believe it is important
for all of us to truly understand the situation and its history, before forming an opinion on the US’s
withdrawal. I would highly recommend spending some extra time further researching this topic as
it is constantly in the news, thus gaining deeper knowledge would be beneficial in many ways. It is
very complicated in that withdrawing could possibly solve a few problems but also could create
some new ones without an American presence. As seen in Iraq, it could result in the US needing
to return to the region in hopes of again re establishing peace. All in all, I believe a longer, more
thought-out approach to leaving the Middle East would benefit all involved, as rash action could spark
some complications.
for all of us to truly understand the situation and its history, before forming an opinion on the US’s
withdrawal. I would highly recommend spending some extra time further researching this topic as
it is constantly in the news, thus gaining deeper knowledge would be beneficial in many ways. It is
very complicated in that withdrawing could possibly solve a few problems but also could create
some new ones without an American presence. As seen in Iraq, it could result in the US needing
to return to the region in hopes of again re establishing peace. All in all, I believe a longer, more
thought-out approach to leaving the Middle East would benefit all involved, as rash action could spark
some complications.
Questions to Consider:
- What is the best approach to the US and its involvement in Syria? Is it best to withdraw now leaving some unsolved conflict to regional and other foreign powers or is it better to wait and carry out a more long-term approach?
- In your opinion, do you think the US should ever have been involved in Syria?
*Sorry about formatting for this article, had troubles with transferring from Google to the Blog*
I believe that the U.S. correctly intervened during the syrian civil war, however, I believe that the U.S. remained too connected to the region. Syria is nearly 7,000 miles from the U.S., but they are still trying to maintain control in the middle east. Barack Obama, previous president of the united states mentioned how the use of chemical weapons would be considered a “red line” (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/05/syria-civil-war-explained-160505084119966.html). Since the U.S. is protecting the weaker anti-Assad group, their presence is defensive and helpful to the smaller group. However, later, the U.S. launched 59 missiles on a spot that was a believed target, showing that the involvement was beyond a protective force, because this move was more offensive than defensive. I believe that the U.S. should remain in Syria with a limited force, and therefore the threat of U.S involvement is still present, however there is not as much interference in political and military decisions in the region. Although there may be some drawbacks to the U.S. leaving, the positives would be a smaller amount of spending overseas, helping the american economy, as well as more independence for the smaller countries in the middle east. Another advantage to U.S. involvement in the middle east was the ability to somewhat maintain ISIS and other terrorist groups. President Trump believes that ISIS is gone, but without any U.S. support in Syria there may be a chance that ISIS could return without any real opposition. (Washington Post). In conclusion, I believe that the U.S. should allow more freedom for Syria and other countries, but they should not fully vacate the region.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion I feel that it was somewhat necessary for the US to get involved in the middle east and specifically Syria. One very important reason for the US’s involvement is the strong grip that ISIS and al-Qaeda have on the region. The US provides nearly $8.1 billion in humanitarian assistance along with supporting local militias to fight back against both of these terrorist organizations. (https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3580.htm) Even with the large amount of support that the US has been providing for the region and Syria, Syria is still not in the best condition and even though ISIS is being somewhat controlled. They still have a very strong presence their. If the US were to withdraw completely from Syria, the ISIS grip would grow and so would ISIS army. We used to believe that issues in the Middle East couldn’t harm us here at home, but take 9/11 as an example, or the amount of issues occuring in Europe on behalf of terrorism. Overall, I feel it is good that the US got involved with Syria. But at the moment I feel that the US should still have a presence in Syria and the Middle East but just give the people of those areas a little bit more freedom.
ReplyDeleteI believe it is necessary for the United States to participate in the Middle East, especially Syria. A very important reason for US participation is because of how much control of the Islamic State and Al Qaeda in the region. The United States provides lots of money in humanitarian aid and supports other local groups to fight back against these two terrorist organizations. Even though the United States has provided major support to the region and Syria, Syria is still not at its best, even though ISIS is somewhat controlled. They still have a very strong sense of existence. If the United States withdraws completely from Syria, the control of the Islamic State will increase, and the Islamic State Army will do the same. We used to think that the Middle East issue cannot harm us here in the U.S.. In general, I think it is a good thing for the United States to participate in Syria. But at the moment I think we should still exist in Syria and the Middle East, although it only brings more freedom to the people in these areas. This in-turn will provide the best result for us in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree about the humanitarian benefits the United States provides, especially with the nightmare that is the ongoing human rights crisis for innocent civilians trapped in the conflict. However, the heavy US involvement in directly combating the terrorist groups relieves the local governing powers of some of the urgency they must take in combating the terrorism themselves. This has potential to leave governments corrupt and highly dependent on US interference, which makes a slow withdrawal of the US a complicated but necessary action.
DeletePersonally, I think the best approach to the US and its involvement in Syria is to withdraw US troops from Syria because the region should deal with its own domestic problems. The reason is that the US is intervening with the foreign problem which is not a good thing because it will be a constant cycle of Syria needing US’s help meaning that the problem will never be solved. I also don’t think the US should have ever been involved in Syria because they might have interfered with the regional politics which proved bad in the past as in the case with the Democratic Republic of Congo. In addition, regional conflicts should be resolved by the sides that are native to it because it might lead the to the US making more enemies than allies.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your comment. I think Syria should be given the freedom to deal with its own government and relations in the region. Although US involvement in the beginning may have been beneficial, I believe now it is causing more harm than good. I like your last sentence about regional conflicts only including those of the region, although I believe international relations and sometimes interference can help, in this case it should be left to the natives.
DeleteI beleive that the US rightfully came into Syria, and should remain in Syria for the benefit of the people. The two main motives for why the US came into Syria in the first place was to prevent the spread of communism and get oil. We learned about the first one in class, and I beleive it was right of the US to take control of Syria then because they feared the spread of communism and did what they deemed was necessary to prevent the spread. Now, I think it is important that the US remains in Syria because if they leave to quickly, chaos could spread in Syria. That would be a great injustice by the US if they just came in to Syria to take a ton of oil and then left it in shambles. I beleive it is the duty of the US to remain in Syria and help develop order to prevent terrorist groups from coming in and putting civilians in danger. According to another news article, there was an instance in which civilians were attacked by chemical weapons. Thousand of people came into the hospitals convulsions and foaming mouths. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/27/world/middleeast/blasts-in-the-night-a-smell-and-a-flood-of-syrian-victims.html?module=inline
ReplyDeleteSurely, Syria is not in a good position to be left unsupported by the US. After all, even if the US loses some troops, it is probably a lot less than the potential amount of civilian lives that could be lost.
I think that the US is making the right choice in withdrawing their troops. Syria needs to deal with their own domestic problems. The US' presence in Syria will just coddle the region into relying on the US to intervene anytime there is conflict. Withdrawing troops allows for the US to change their attention to other important problems and focus more internally. I also believe that the US shouldn't have gotten involved with Syria in the first place. With the US involved, it only prolonged the conflict with no actual end in sight. Less external military intervention by lots of people; the Russians, the Iranians, the Turks and the Americans would allow the people of the region to define the balance of power and culture and identity and authority in the region by themselves over time.(https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/11/world/middleeast/syria-withdraw-mideast-us.html)
ReplyDelete^Henry Louie
DeleteI feel the best approach for the US to leave syria is to, make sure they are leaving a nation, not a site of chaos. As mentioned in the original article US has been in Syria since the cold war ended. One can assume that this means that the population has grown dependent on the US for keeping them protected, and safe. If US leaves syria in the state they are in right now, the country could be taken over by an unauthorized force (ISIS) and an autocracy could be placed. Due to these reasons I think the US should proceed with a long term approach and set up a government that the people elect. One of the main reasons US went into syria was to (https://www.thenational.ae/world/mena/a-look-at-us-involvement-in-syria-1.721352)get a control on the ISIS militants in the area, but the article later mentions they did mostly through airstrikes. Because of this I believe, it wasn't necessary for them to physically take over syria and make their population dependent on them. Even though their intentions were right, I believe the US went into syria “non-rightfully”
ReplyDelete- sanya
I think that the US involvement in Syria is a positive thing because counteracting and discouraging terrorism as well as tyrannical government helps the citizens in the area and also other places. I think that without the help that the US brought, Syria would be in a worse condition than it is in now. The best way to withdraw from Syria would probably be to set up a new system of government and to keep an eye on the new system for a few years and slowly lessening US control. This way, the US can transition out with a smaller chance of things going wrong.
ReplyDeleteI think the US made the right decision when the withdrew their troops. The war in Syria as proved to be a stalemate and any further investment that the US makes is just a waste of resources and money. Syria has its own issues that he US are not affiliated with and I think its best that we let them sort out the issues by themselves. Additionally I think being involved with international issues that do not pertain to the US may result in gaining more enemies.
ReplyDelete