No strategy has worked in Syria
A joint strike by US and its allies won’t help end the civil war
The strike by the US, Britain and France on facilities in Syria that produce chemical weapons, which used more than 100 Cruise missiles, will do little to alter the situation in the West Asian country, which has been mired in a civil war that has claimed more than half a million lives over the past seven years. The strike was a one-off aimed at deterring President Bashar al-assad from using chemical weapons against his own people. It followed the death of 40 people in Douma. Clearly, such a strategy hasn’t worked in the past. The red lines established by the US and its allies haven’t really deterred the Assad regime.
More important, the Western powers, especially the US, appear to have no real strategy to cope with the complex situation in Syria. Top US leaders appear divided on how long the 2,000-odd American troops in Syria — sent to assist in the fight against the Islamic State — will remain in that country. The picture is further complicated by the presence of Russian mercenaries, Iran-backed militias and President Vladimir Putin’s unconditional support for Assad. The fighting has already triggered one of the largest refugee movements in recent decades, with Turkey and Lebanon alone having taken in more than one million Syrians each. In contrast, the US has taken in just 11 Syrian refugees this year. Even more damning is that fact that the deal brokered by the US and Russia in 2013 to destroy Syria’s stock of chemical weapons clearly hasn’t worked.
The war in Syria is about those who want Assad to remain in power, and those who don’t. Assad, thanks to the support from Russia and Iran, appears to be winning. India, with its growing security ties with the US and long-standing strategic relations with Russia, finds itself in a difficult position. India has deplored the use of chemical weapons but also called for dialogue to end the suffering of the Syrian people but it knows that a regime change isn’t the real solution.