Trump's Intractable Conflict in Syria

• In Event: U.S. Foreign Policy

Abstract

During the 2016 Presidential campaign,candidate Donald Trump suggested that Bashar al Assad's rule was far better for Syria than any alternatives.Once he took office the president stated that the United States would accept Assad in power for the short term.
A sensitive issue for the Trump Administration was,and has remained the support given to the Syrian Kurds to defeat ISIS because Turkey considers the Syrian Force,the YPg,a terrorist organization and a proxy for the PKK.
The Syrian Civil war is a conflict among proxies and great power competition.The actors include Kurdish forces,pro and anti Syrian government forces,Hezbollah,al-Qaeda,ISIS,Iran,Russia,Turkey,and the United States.

My paper will examine President Trump's approach to the intractable conflict in Syria to defeat ISIS and stabilize the Syrian governmental system.

Author

• Len Cutler, Siena College