US failed to remove independent Syrian government: Analyst

Rasa - The new shift in US policy in Syria was influenced by President Donald Trump’s so-called America First policy that he has advocated since coming to office, says a political analyst.

News ID: 437052

Date: 31 March 2018 - 17:13

RNA - Following Trump’s election, “America First” has become the official foreign policy doctrine of his administration, which emphasizes American nationalism and anti-interventionism.

On Thursday, Trump announced that the US will withdraw from Syria "very soon.”

One day later, Trump ordered the US State Department to freeze over $200 million in funds for recovery efforts in Syria.

Trump’s pullback from Syria  signals a new strategy amid a reassessment of the role the US should play in the conflict, said Keith Preston, chief editor of AttacktheSystem.com..

The Trump administration has realized that the US-led military campaign in Syria has failed to reach its objective of removing the independent government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Preston told on Friday.

The US has reportedly more than 2,000 troops stationed in eastern Syria, in addition to several thousand others in the Arab country's north.

Trump has also complained that the US has wasted trillions of dollars in Middle East wars, but gets "nothing" in return.

Trump's remarks on pulling out of Syria were made just hours after chief Pentagon spokesperson Dana White told reporters that "important work remains to guarantee the lasting defeat of these violent extremists", referring to Daesh.

According to Press TV, in January, then US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announced that the US military would remain in Syria indefinitely.

The US and its allies have been bombarding what they call Daesh positions inside Syria since September 2014 without any authorization from the Damascus government or a UN mandate.

The strikes, however, have on many occasions resulted in civilian casualties and failed to fulfill their declared aim of countering terrorism.

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