Washington, D.C. – President Joe Biden outlined a new strategy for U.S. involvement in Syria on Tuesday, focusing on continued assistance to local forces battling ISIS while reaffirming America’s commitment to combating terrorism in the region.
In a statement, Biden announced the U.S. forces’ intention to conduct targeted airstrike campaigns against ISIS-occupied positions and to eradicate ISIS’s final strongholds for good. Under this broader operation against the Islamic State, airstrikes will zero in on what are considered valuable assets: stores of weapons and ammunition, as well as training camps for fighters and Syrian leaders in northern Syria.
The plan also includes increased aid to Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which have been instrumental in combatting ISIS but remain subject to ongoing threats from ISIS, as well as Turkish military operations. The Biden administration is looking to enhance the SDF’s capacity to hold recently liberated territory from ISIS and increase local governance, which remains weak due to the constant instability.
“We will not allow ISIS to regain a foothold in Syria. Our mission is clear: we will work in tandem with our partners to ensure the lasting defeat of ISIS,” Biden said in a State Department address because a distance must be kept, though pressure should be applied to the terrorist organization, with no confrontation with other regional players.
On the other hand, the U.S. military presence in Syria is highly controversial, with many critics saying the risks of getting further entangled do outweigh any benefits. Still, the Biden administration maintained that a strong U.S. role in fighting terrorism and ensuring regional security was needed in the future.
The airstrikes were a continuation of Operation Iraqi Freedom. They accurately targeted forces and installations with the least amount of possibility to produce civilians. The Biden administration asks for diplomatic backing to address broader humanitarian issues in Syria raised during the civil war that has devastated that country.
The President announces this amid increasing pressures to align the U.S. strategic interests in the Middle East with the rise in concern over the war in Ukraine and several dynamic global developments.
