Why Are U.S. Troops In Syria?

Summary

Summary of NPR Politics Podcast Episode: "Why Are U.S. Troops In Syria?"

Release Date: December 10, 2024
Host/Authors: Hannah, Greg Myhre, Mara Liasson
Duration: Approximately 17 minutes

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1. Introduction to the Episode

The episode begins with Hannah McCammon setting the stage for a critical discussion on the recent developments in Syria and their implications for U.S. foreign policy amidst an impending presidential transition.

2. The Overthrow of Bashar al-Assad

Timestamp: [01:00]

• Greg Myhre details the surprising deposition of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, highlighting the longevity of the Assad family's rule—spanning over five decades starting with Hafez Assad. "More than 50 years of this brutally repressive regime has just collapsed overnight," he states ([02:00]).

• The rapid fall of Assad's regime occurred within two weeks as the rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) captured key cities, culminating in Assad fleeing to Russia. Greg emphasizes the sudden nature of authoritarian regime collapses: "They won't fall apart gradually. They will look like they're pretty stable, pretty steady, and then all of a sudden they just collapse overnight" ([02:50]).

3. Current Control Over Syria

Timestamp: [03:33]

• Mara Liasson inquires about the present governance of Syria. Greg Myhre explains that no single entity controls the entire nation. HTS, an Islamist group previously affiliated with Al Qaeda and still on the U.S. terrorist list, holds significant sway in Damascus and other major cities. However, other factions, including Kurdish groups supported by Turkey, also have substantial influence.

• Myhre notes the challenges ahead: "Can they work together? Can they cooperate, can they form a government and put Syria together again after more than a decade of a really horrific civil war?" ([04:00]).

4. The U.S. Role and Objectives in Syria

Timestamp: [05:01]

• Hannah prompts a discussion on the U.S. involvement in Syria. Greg Myhre outlines the historical context, tracing back to the 2014 rise of the Islamic State (ISIS) and the subsequent U.S. military intervention aimed at combating the terrorist threat.

• As of the episode's date, approximately 900 American troops remain in northeastern Syria with the primary mission of preventing ISIS's resurgence. "President Biden says they will remain for now," Myhre confirms ([06:29]).

• The U.S. recently conducted a significant airstrike targeting 75 locations, purportedly ISIS training sites, reflecting ongoing efforts to mitigate threats amidst Syria's instability ([06:00]).

5. ISIS's Continued Threat in Syria

Timestamp: [08:17]

• Hannah references former President Trump's claim of ISIS's defeat in Syria, prompting Myhre to clarify the current status. While ISIS has been deeply degraded, remnants still exist and pose potential threats, especially in a fragmented Syria. "They have camps. They're not large as they were. They've been deeply degraded by the US Fighting... But they are there" ([08:29]).

6. Potential Shifts in U.S. Policy Under Trump

Timestamp: [12:01]

• With the prospect of Donald Trump returning to office, Mara Liasson discusses potential changes in U.S. policy toward Syria. Trump's known isolationist stance suggests a possible withdrawal from U.S. involvement: "His first reaction to the overthrow of Assad was a tweet... that said the United States should have nothing to do with it" ([12:01]).

• However, geopolitical dynamics, such as Russia's weakened position due to the Ukraine conflict, might influence Trump to maintain some level of engagement. "A lot of people... are worried that he wants to stop it on Putin's terms" ([13:10]).

• Greg Myhre adds that Trump's desire to strengthen diplomatic ties, particularly through initiatives like the Abraham Accords, could clash with the current instability: "If he wants to do some of the diplomatic or economic things that he wants to do... he's not going to be able to do" ([14:14]).

7. The Case of Austin Tice

Timestamp: [14:50]

• The episode touches on the unresolved case of Austin Tice, an American journalist detained in Syria since 2012. Mara Liasson reports that U.S. intelligence maintains the assumption that Tice is alive, though his current status remains uncertain: "We have no information to the contrary, but they don't have any information about where he is or what his condition is" ([15:07]).

• Greg Myhre underscores the significance of this case for both administrations. Efforts to locate Tice continue, but recent developments, such as the mass release of prisoners from Syrian jails, have yet to yield concrete information about his whereabouts ([15:22]).

8. Implications for U.S. Administration Policies

Timestamp: [16:03]

• Discussing the broader impact, Greg Myhre emphasizes the complexities the next administration will face. Negotiating Syria's future while managing existing military and humanitarian obligations presents a formidable challenge: "The person who deals with hostages... is in Lebanon trying to see if there's anything more he can learn" ([16:03]).

9. Conclusion

The episode concludes with a reinforcement of the multifaceted U.S. involvement in Syria, encompassing military, political, economic, and humanitarian dimensions. The impending shift in presidential leadership adds uncertainty to the future trajectory of American policy in the region.

---

Notable Quotes:

• Greg Myhre on the sudden collapse of Assad's regime:
  "More than 50 years of this brutally repressive regime has just collapsed overnight." ([02:00])

• Greg Myhre on authoritarian regime stability:
  "They won't fall apart gradually. They will look like they're pretty stable, pretty steady, and then all of a sudden they just collapse overnight." ([02:50])

• Greg Myhre on ISIS's presence:
  "They have camps. They're not large as they were. They've been deeply degraded by the US Fighting... But they are there." ([08:29])

• Mara Liasson on Trump's potential policy:
  "His first reaction to the overthrow of Assad was a tweet... that said the United States should have nothing to do with it." ([12:01])

• Greg Myhre on the challenges of diplomacy under Trump:
  "If he wants to do some of the diplomatic or economic things that he wants to do... he's not going to be able to do." ([14:14])

• Mara Liasson on Austin Tice's status:
  "We have no information to the contrary, but they don't have any information about where he is or what his condition is." ([15:07])

---

This comprehensive summary encapsulates the key discussions from the NPR Politics Podcast episode, providing insights into the recent upheavals in Syria, the ongoing U.S. involvement, potential shifts under a new administration, and the lingering concerns surrounding American hostages.

Transcript

[Carvana]

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[Hannah]

Hi, this is Hannah and Armand. We're on the fifth and final day of our road trip from Boston, Massachusetts, to Phoenix, Arizona, accompanied by my dog, Finn. This podcast was recorded at 1:08pm Eastern Time on Tuesday, December 10, 2024. Things may have changed by the time you hear this, but hopefully I'll be settling into my new home in Phoenix. Here's the show.

[Mara Liasson]

Oh, congratulations.

[Hannah]

That's a long trip and a lot of weather and geography changes. Hey there. It's the NPR Politics podcast. I'm Sarah McCammon. I cover politics.

[Greg Myhre]

I'm Greg Myhre. I cover national security.

[Mara Liasson]

And I'm Mara Liasson, senior national political correspondent.

[Hannah]

Today on the show, we're taking a look at the major changes in recent days in Syria and what those events mean for US Foreign policy as a new administration prepares to take office in Washington. Greg, let's start with the big news of the weekend. Bashar al Assad, the country's longtime leader, has been deposed. What happened and why did this happen now after so many years of civil war?

[Greg Myhre]

Yeah, it was quite shocking. And as somebody who's followed Syria for a long time, I mean, we're talking about more than 50 years of rule by Bashar Assad's father, Hafez Assad, and now by Bashar Assad. So between them, they date back to the Nixon administration. Little aside, I saw a great picture posted just before Nixon resigned. He went to Syria in 1974, posed with Hafez Assad, and there's little Bashar Assad, 8 year old in short pants standing with him in the photo. So quite an extraordinary image if we think about that time till today.

[Hannah]

Wow. And just reinforces how long this family has been ruling.

[Greg Myhre]

Absolutely. And the Assad rule has been under threat since the civil war erupted back in 2011. But it looked like Assad had survived that. He was getting a lot of help from Russia and Iran in the past four years. There had been a truce that was kind of sort of holding, and it seemed he had at least reestablished control over most of the country, the populated areas as the capital, Damascus. But then just dramatically, in the space of less than two weeks, this rebel group known as HTS captured Aleppo, the second biggest city, and then just came charging down from the north, capturing a new city every couple days and rode into Damascus over the weekend. Assad fled. He has landed in Russia. Russia says they are giving him asylum there. And more than 50 years of this brutally repressive regime has just collapsed, collapsed overnight. And often you see this with really authoritarian regimes is that they won't fall apart gradually. They will look like they're pretty stable, pretty steady, and then all of a sudden they just collapse overnight. That's what's happened here. And now there's a huge challenge for this one rebel group, hts, but many other factions as well and elements of the ousted regime. Can they work together? Can they cooperate, can they form a government and put Syria together again after more than a decade of a really horrific civil war?

[Mara Liasson]

Greg, who is in control of Syria right now?

[Greg Myhre]

Well, nobody's in control of all of Syria. This group, hts, which stands for Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, is an Islamist group. The US put HTS on the US terrorist list back in 2012. The group was affiliated with Al Qaeda. Now the group has disavowed those ties back in 2016. They've tried to present themselves as a more moderate and they have ruled up in northwest Syria for the past several years. And most people say they've lived up to that. They don't require women to wear the hijab. They haven't cracked down on ethnic or other religious minorities. So it hasn't been a really hard line Islamist rule. But that's certainly where they came from. And there are certainly all these other groups who are very skeptical, very suspicious within Syria itself and the US as well. It's still on the terrorist watch list, which means the US can't deal directly with it right now. It's sort of working around it, it seems, maybe to an indirect party. So HTS is the group that's in the capital, Damascus, and many of the big cities. But there are other factions. The Kurds in the northeast, for example, a Turkish supported group up along the border between Turkey and Syria. So there isn't just one group in charge. And both politically and militarily, they have to sort this out. That's going to be a huge challenge right now.

[Hannah]

Remind us, what is the US role in Syria? What has it been in recent years?

[Greg Myhre]

Yeah, you'd really go back about a decade. So it was 2014 when the Islamic State started rampaging across the Middle East. It took huge chunks of territory very quickly in Iraq and in Syria. And so President Obama at that time decided the US Needed to send in troops back into the region to Battle the Islamic State. They did. They fought them for self several years with some partners in those areas. By the end of 2018, the US had effectively defeated the Islamic State and the northeastern part of Syria in particular. By now, President Trump is in his first term in office, and he said he tweeted back in 2018, we're leaving. It's time to get out. Now. That didn't happen, but those US Troops have been there for a decade now. There's about 900American forces, most in the northeast. And their mission there is to prevent the resurgence of the Islamic State. The remnants are still there. And just On Sunday, the US carried out a huge airstrike. They hit 75 targets. US officials said that they saw Islamic State fighters gathering to train and perhaps trying to take advantage of this turmoil in Syria. US Called in this major airstrike against Islamic State. And so that's why those US Forces are there. President Biden says they will remain for now.

[Mara Liasson]

Yeah. And you know, the National Security Council did brief reporters today, and what was interesting is they said that at least for now, the rebel groups are saying the right things about how they want to govern Syria and that it would be a sovereign nation and the Syrian people could decide the kind of government they want. But they said, we're going to have to watch to see what they actually do.

[Hannah]

So, Greg, what is the objective for the US at this point? You mentioned some of those strikes in Syria. Is it just about securing chemical weapons stores, keeping them from getting into the wrong hands, or is it something else, something bigger?

[Greg Myhre]

Well, I think there's multiple priorities. I think first and foremost, it's preventing the resurgence of the Islamic State. That's why those troops are there. The US Is obviously very concerned about chemical weapons. Bashar Assad used those weapons against his own people back in 2013 and killed certainly hundreds and perhaps over a thousand. So that remains a critical issue. Now, a US Official has said they believe those weapons are very well contained. They're not really worried about them now. They haven't explained where they are or who's in control of them or how they can be secured. There have been reports that Israeli airstrikes in Syria the past few days have targeted chemical weapons facilities related to the weapons program, if not the weapons themselves. And then, of course, there's the humanitarian issue that so many people in Syria have been killed. So many have been displaced internally. Millions have gone across the border into Turkey and other countries. So all of these issues, the military issue, the political issue of putting Syria back together, the economic and humanitarian issue. The US Is involved in all of these things right now.

[Hannah]

You know, quickly, Greg, you mentioned isis. You've mentioned ISIS a couple of times. Trump, when he was in office, I think, in 2018, said that the U.S. had defeated ISIS in Syria. To what extent is the Islamic State still a threat there?

[Greg Myhre]

Well, they have camps. They're not large as they were. They've been deeply degraded by the US Fighting in the previous decade, and the US has kept them under wraps and has not allowed them to expand. But they are there. They do want to reemerge if possible. And they're a potential threat to Syria, of course, but also in neighboring Iraq. And they have factions in other countries as well. So that remains a concern. I think the assessment would be that if the US or others left and did not keep an eye on them, that they could reemerge, especially in a country as shattered as Syria, where the central government may not have much, if any, security control.

[Hannah]

Okay, let's take a quick break. We'll have more in just a moment.

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[Mara Liasson]

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[Hannah]

And we're back. Mara, how could policy toward Syria specifically and toward the humanitarian aid concerns that Greg mentioned more broadly, how could all of this change when Trump comes back in office next month?

[Mara Liasson]

Well, there's no area where Trump is more different from Joe Biden than foreign policy. He is an isolationist. His first reaction to the overthrow of Assad was a tweet on Truth Social, his social media platform, that said the United States should have nothing to do with it. This is not our fight. Let it play out. Do not get involved. It's possible that that will be his operating approach to this, but we don't know because a unstable Middle east is bad for America and he might change his mind. We also have the question of the fact that Russia is weakened. He wrote another post where he said Russia was weakened in Syria because of Ukraine, where he says close to 600,000 Russian soldiers have been wounded or dead. And he's very interested in getting Russia and Ukraine to the bargaining table, to the negotiating table to get that war stopped. A lot of people, especially Democrats, are worried that he wants to stop it on Putin's terms. So this is one of the things we're just going to have to wait and see what happens when Trump gets into office. But it is very possible that the US Will pull back dramatically from providing humanitarian aid around the world. Right.

[Hannah]

You talk about these non interventionist isolationist tendencies, I think more than tendencies that have been a hallmark of Trump's at least his foreign policy positioning. At the same time, trying to achieve greater peace and cooperation in the Middle east was a major part of his foreign policy during his first term. He was very proud of his role in the Abraham Accords. How do these developments in Syria affect the way Trump may operate in that part of the world, particularly with this desire, as we've mentioned, to be a player in the Middle east and perhaps expand the Abraham Accords.

[Mara Liasson]

Well, one of the big things he has to do is get Saudi Arabia to actually sign them. And Saudi Arabia has always said they would only sign them them if Israel agreed to some kind of a path to a two state solution, which Benjamin Netanyahu is adamantly against. But he mentioned again that the only way he could get good press coverage was if he came out for a two state solution, and that would never happen. So if Trump wants to move forward with those accords, he's going to have to figure out how to make some kind of peace in the Middle East.

[Hannah]

Greg, how do you see this playing out?

[Greg Myhre]

Yeah, I would just add that I think that Trump will feel this sort of push, pull. There are things he wants to do in the Middle East. He would love to increase the diplomatic relationships between not only the US but also Israel and some of these countries. If he wants to do that, he's also going to have to deal with the security parts of it. You know, Israel has been bombing Syria the past few days. If that contributes to an unstable region, well, then he's not going to be able to do some of the diplomatic or economic things that he wants to do. So I think that's one of the issues he will run into very quickly.

[Hannah]

Before we go, I also want to talk about Austin Tice. He is an American freelance journalist who was detained by the Syrian government more than a decade ago, believed to have been imprisoned there. US Intelligence has said he is believed to still be alive. What do we know? What's the latest?

[Mara Liasson]

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby talked about this today. He said that their operating assumption is that Tice is alive. He says, we have no information to the contrary, but they don't have any information about where he is or what his condition is.

[Greg Myhre]

Yeah, and just a reminder, Austin Tice was a journalist. He was writing for a number of American publications, including the Washington Post, when he disappeared in 2012, shortly after or about a year after the Syrian civil war broke out. There was video of him that appeared shortly after his capture. So he was taken and was still alive. However, it's been more than a decade now before there's been any proof of of life that we're aware of publicly. And also what we're hearing privately is, as Mara noted, they believe he's alive, but they don't have concrete proof.

[Hannah]

Will this have any effect on the Trump administration or the Biden administration for the next month? How they move forward in regard to Syria.

[Greg Myhre]

I mean, I think it's a very big deal for the Biden administration. In fact, the person who deals with hostages, Roger Carstens in the Biden administration, is in Lebanon trying to see if there's anything more he can learn or anything we can figure out. We've seen these images of thousands, literally thousands of prisoners in Syria come out of the many prisons in Syria as the gates are open. Certainly, there was the hope that when this mass opening of the prisons took place that we might hear something about him very soon. It hasn't happened yet.

[Hannah]

All right. We will leave it there for today. I'm Sarah McCammon. I cover politics.

[Greg Myhre]

I'm Greg Myri. I cover national security.

[Mara Liasson]

And I'm Mara Liasson, senior national political correspondent.

[Hannah]

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