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Is Syria the next mess for the United States and the free world, including Israel?
Syria, part of the ancient world, which figures prominently in Jewish history, came under the sway of the Muslim Ottoman Empire based in Turkey. The Ottoman Empire ruled the land from 1516 to the end of World War I, 1918. Syria was Muslim long before Sultan Selim I defeated the Mamluks in the battle of Marj Dabiq.
As recently as 1831, Syria was invaded by the Egyptians.
French forces prevailed in World War I and the Occupied Enemy Territory Administration was set up during World War I. A number of short-lived Syrian states came into being during and after World War I. The Syrian republic gained its independence in April of 1946. Immediately thereafter, Syria, along with the other Arab nations, engaged in an attempted war of extermination against Israel and the Jewish people.
The recently deposed leader of Syria, Bashar al-Assad is an Alawite, a minority Islamic sect. He and his family have ruled over the Syrians for several generations now, over 50 years.
The Assads established a political dynasty that ruled Syria from 1971 until the ouster of Bashar al-Assad on December 8, 2024.
All of the nations in Arab Middle East are essentially colonialist creations dreamed up by the victors in World War I. The Saudi family was put in charge of Saudi Arabia. The Hashemites in Jordan, and the Assad family in Syria.
The only democracy which has ever existed in the Middle East is, or course, Israel.
Who are the new rulers of Syria and what does it mean for the United States and Israel? It is too early to predict just who will wind up governing Syria, but the new leadership appears to be an outgrowth of the terrorist group Al-Queda. The current conglomeration of leaders in Syria are not nice people, none of them. They are all folks who have terrorist roots, one way or another.
Whether the leadership of Syria will somehow morph into a western-style democracy is a bet not worth making.
The job for the West, is make sure that Syria does not become another cancer, aligned with those who seek to destroy the West and Israel. That will not be an easy task.
The nature of the Middle East is that various Arab tribes and competing sects of Islam seek to impose their views and values on everyone else. The West, with its tolerance of other people, rights for women, Black people and Jews, is considered to be sinful. Sinful, not in a social way, but with absolute religious rigor.
The current and new leaders of Syria should hate Iran and Russia. Both nations propped up Asad and helped him to kill almost 600,000 of his own people displacing 13 million during the civil war. Many of those victims are related to the people who now have power in Syria.
However, the fact that the new regime in Syria was persecuted by the Assad faction, with the help of Russia and Iran, does not necessarily mean that the new boys in town will be any good for those of us that adhere to Western values. It does not work that way in the Middle East.
For Israel, there is not much more that can be done, other than watchful waiting and destruction of Syria's advanced weaponry. The new leadership in Syria is thankful to Israel for fighting Hezbollah and weakening that terrorist group which essentially occupies and controls Lebanon and has a major presence in Syria as well. The old adage that the enemy of my enemy is my friend does not work in the Middle East. In fact, it is more typical that the enemy of my enemy is my enemy.
The United States, Europe and Israel should consider, as conditions may warrant, being supportive of the new order in Damascus, if it proves itself to be peaceful and tolerant. However, the Western coalition must act promptly to insure that Iran is contained, that Turkey, also a major troublemaker, minds its own business, and that Western interests are treated with respect.
While the United States and Western policy to Syria should not be "hands off", it should not take a deep dive into the pool just yet. Rather, watchful waiting and sending the correct signal is going to be important to the leadership of Syria. The current rebels who have gained control of the country, are not necessarily going to be those who emerge as the kingpins. No doubt there will be an internal power struggle and who will emerge as the top dog in Syria is anyone's guess.
The United States and the West must marginalize and sanction Iran, make it clear to the NATO member Turkey, that it cannot be the new troublemaker in town, and assure that terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah cannot continue to exist. This means, among other things, cutting off the money supply to terrorist groups from our "friends" in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and other oil rich Arab oil titans.
While terrorist operatives in the Middle East are a danger, both to Saudi Arabia and Jordan, neither of those countries are wholly independent of pressure from terrorist-aligned entities.
The Middle East is a complex place and United States policy must be straightforward and consistent. No money, financial or political support for the bad guys, and reasonable incentives for the good ones.
Perhaps the most important component of U.S. strategy in the Middle East is that it cannot afford to walk away from the region and to risk Syria or any other nation in the Middle East falling into the hands of those who are sworn to the destruction of our Western way of life.
Clifford A. Rieders is a board-certified trial advocate in Williamsport.