A torn poster of Bashar al-Assad on a wall in central Damascus
I spoke with talkRADIO’s Penny Smith about the situation in Syria, explaining why Donald Trump’s order for withdrawal of US troops may not be implemented by agencies.
We put this within the context of a country which is effectively partitioned between regime-controlled, Turkish- and opposition-controlled, and Kurdish-controlled areas.
With no political resolution in sight, what is likely to occur in 2019 in a country where more than 500,000 people have been killed, more than 11 million — half the pre-conflict population — displaced, and more than $400 billion in cost to the Syrian economy?
We begin with the statement of UK Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt that “Russia must take responsibility” for a Assad regime which is still in place, at least over part of Syria.
No one wins when millions are displaced and hundreds of thousands killed. And Bashar al-Assad only remains in power because of the essential support of Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah.
The UK is signalling to Russia, “You broke it. You own it.”
