The United States is playing a dangerous game in Syria

DAMASCUS, Syria － The presence of US forces in Syria since 2014 has done nothing to help end a civil war and only increased instability in the country, political experts have said.

The US intervention, without Syrian consent, began under the pretext of fighting radical groups such as the Islamic State, created following the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Experts pointed out that since the United States launched an international war on terrorism in the wake of the September 11 attacks, its policy has been defined primarily by military interventions to reshape the Middle East in accordance with its own vision and on its agenda, and not for the benefit of the people in those countries.

Muhammad Omari, a Syrian political expert, said terrorist threats still exist in Syria and the groups behind them are covered by foreign powers, who provide them with weapons and other military equipment to prolong their existence and further destabilize the country. country.

It’s no secret that the United States is supporting Kurdish fighters in northeastern Syria and encouraging the rebels to create some form of regional autonomy in the region.

Imad Salem, another political expert, said the US military presence has hampered any progress the Syrian military might make in areas east of the Euphrates region, which is controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces led by the Kurds, or homeless.

The United States does not really want to fight terrorism and its existence in the region has brought only “destruction and disaster,” said Salem, adding that Washington not only supported the SDF but also emboldened the sleeper cells. the Islamic State to “carry out operations targeting the Syrian army, in particular in the Syrian desert”.

Analysts also believe that the United States is colluding in the theft of oil and other natural resources by terrorist groups in Syria, exacerbating the difficult economic situation of the Syrian people.

“Today, sanctions and economic terrorism are imposed on Syria due to the lack of capacity of the Syrian state to meet the basic needs of the Syrian people” due to economic pressure, said Omari.

These actions are conducive to “creating an environment conducive to the growth of terrorist organizations in the country,” Omari said.

The political expert said the rates of terrorist and extremist incidents in Syria were much lower before US forces entered the country.

“I believe that the military occupation and the devastation, destruction, economic and social effects it leaves behind, (…) create an environment conducive to the existence and growth of terrorist organizations in these country, ”Omari said.

Lack of necessities

Experts said the United States had taken control of key oil and gas fields in eastern Syria while imposing stifling economic sanctions to stifle the economy in government-controlled areas. These actions worsened the shortage of basic necessities in a context of soaring prices.

The dire situation in Syria has ripple effects. A direct result of the economic situation is the exodus of refugees to Europe, and new flows are adding to the refugee crisis there, experts said.

They believe that the real intention of the United States is to weaken Syria and force the government to succumb to American policy in the region and to accept Washington’s diktats.

In time, the example of Syria will clearly show that the US strategy only serves to destabilize the Middle East while doing little to keep terrorist organizations at bay.

One sure conclusion, said Salem, is that the enormous costs of the “war on terror” and its impact on the Middle East have created instability, chaos, destruction and insecurity.

Xinhua