The State Department told Reuters on Wednesday that the US has no plans to normalize or upgrade relations with Syria and would not encourage others to do so. The comments came as Jordan fully reopened its border with Syria.
“The United States will not normalize or upgrade our diplomatic relations with the Assad regime nor do we encourage others to do so,” a State Department spokesperson said. “Assad has regained no legitimacy in our eyes, and there is no question of the US normalizing relations with his government at this time.”
The US maintains crushing economic sanctions on Syria that specifically target the construction and energy sectors to make it difficult for the country to rebuild. Sanctions imposed under the Caesar Act in 2020 can target any individual, company, or government that is doing business with Syria regardless of nationality, meaning Jordan could be targeted.
In June, a Biden administration official warned other countries against opening up with Syria and threatened Caesar Act sanctions. “Governments and businesses need to be careful that their proposed or envisioned transactions don’t expose them to potential sanctions from the United States under that act,” said Joey Hood, the acting assistant secretary of state for Near East affairs.
On top of the sanctions, the US maintains a small occupation force of about 900 troops in eastern Syria, where most of the country’s oil fields are, keeping the resource out of Damascus’ hands. The US also backs the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in the region.
The goal of Washington’s Syria policy is regime change in Damascus. But the worst of the war against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is over, and he is not going anywhere. All the sanctions and occupation will do is hurt the civilian population.
Surrender or die has always been the norm with Syria. This last decade has just been a little more kinetic.
Not always. Maher Arar, the Canadian, in 2002 kidnapped by the FBI at JFK and “renditioned” to Syria for torture. Assad was then a good fella to Cheney, Rumsfeld, Tenet, Netanyahu, …. One might deduce the change a result of Assad abandoning the “dark side”.
Like the Mafia, once ‘blooded’ there’s no resigning.
They were nice to Gaddafi for a while when he came in from the cold as well.
Seems like a “Heeeere piggy, piggy, piggy!” strategy.
What did other people living in a brainwashed totalitarian military empire do?
We don’t bat an eye over the impending doom in Yemen, why should Syria be any different? Our media can’t say “Assad” without “brutal dictator” preceding his name so starving thousands more won’t create a peep out of the sheeple.
US has ceased operations that support KSA’s bombing campaign in Yemen.
Yemen, just another place that the British Empire screwed over.
Just the offensive ones. Ask Joe.
“Yemen, just another place that the British Empire screwed over.”
True but that was peanuts compared to the British screwing-over of the British Mandate of Palestine.
Israel would never allow it.
I wonder who it will be that destroys Damascus. Will it be the USA? Israel? Both?
Forgetting Russia? They have a big stake with their only Med naval base located in Syria. Not going to walk away from that very easily.
So their interests should mean they would want to protect Damascus, not destroy it. Israel and the US on the other hand….
“She measures time not by days and months and years, but by the empires she has seen rise and prosper and crumble into ruin. She is a type of immortality.”
Mark Twain in 1867 wrote about Damascus:
The goal remains the destruction of Syria.
Excellent video. Giving Obama a Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 without anything to show other than speeches full of clichés discredited that organization. He went on to bomb 8 countries, while still enjoying that label. He turned Libya into a failed state and started his illegal war on Syria even after it was obvious the American people did not support it and Congress would not approve it. Here his lies were clearly exposed in his own words.
Israel needs Syria to degenerate into a failed Islamist state.
Assad represents a secular alternative– the truth of which cannot be allowed to get traction in the West; this will allow Israel to keep the Golan and have the USA
bless this situation as part of the “war on terror”.
Same reason Saddam had to go.
Same reason Israel created Hamas.
Who cares if the Biden régime upgrades its relations with Syria? Get out- you are illegally there stealing fuel and destroying lives.
US is going to wait until they have wasted blood and treasure, without a victory, then flee in the night.
Three countries are our potential beachheads in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Levant and from the Levant to the Middle east. They are Lebanon, Syria, and Israel. (The sliver of Turkish territory can be ignored).
All three have decent harbors which could become US Naval Bases.
Lebanon has borders with Syria and Israel. Israel has borders with Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt. Syria has borders with Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, and IRAQ. Obviously Syria is by far the most significant of the three.
A pro-US Syrian government would dramatically change the distribution of power in that part of Western Asia.
The Biden government knows that.
What should it do?
What all of our governments should have done since Israel became a state. Promote a Levantine Common Market a la the Benelux consisting of Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, and Libya with Iraq, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia as associates.
The US failed in Syria. Its intention was regime change and to replace Assad. The false-flag chemical attacks failed. Using outside terrorists (ISIS) with weapons smuggled out of Benghazi financed with stolen oil was exposed and failed when Russia intervened. Assad remains highly popular. Another US failure. Withdraw already before you are humiliated again.
I think things are speeding up.
Saudi in defence agreement with Russia. Many more Russian troops in Mid-east than US.
I predict (hope) that in 12 months the US troops will be out of Iraq and Syria.
I believe the trigger will be the destruction of the northern oil fields, with Chinese contracts to rebuild. (as in Build back better)
The vicious sanctions against Syria are the usual US behavior towards any “adversary”, and to allow Syria to rebuild (without US help of course) would be unAmerican.
Just like Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan the occupation of Syria is about resources. The US Achilles heel is heavy crude. The US is well past peak oil that matters, as the oil we produce is too light to make diesel, JP4, JP5. fuel oil etc. The US military and heavy transport runs on heavy crude. We will remain in Syria until the host is almost dead, then it will be on to Iran or Venezuela, that sit atop the last easily produced reserves of heavy crude on the planet.
prior to the start of this GENOCIDE no one remembers that israeLIES asked Syria for permission to build a gas/oil pipeline across Syria and the Syrian government said NOPE! Then the israeLIES DEMANDED they be allowed to build a pipeline across Syria.. Syria told the israeLIES to F OFF!
Same genocidal scenario in Yemen, different players similar situation.. The saudis requested permission to cut a canal across Yemen to ship oil,. the Yemenis’ said no thank you. The saudi’s then demanded they be allowed to dig a canal across Yemen.. Yemenis told the saudi’s to F OFF!
In both situations the US gvt “along with PAID foreign agent/terrorists ie, isis, alquada et al” were deployed to destabilize & make war upon the troublesome governments of the countries failing to capitulate to demands..
Is anyone seeing the pattern yet?