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Hundreds of Syrians are being killed each week as bombs, missiles, and gunfire continue to rain on both fighters and civilians in the midst of a brutal civil war. Both the United States and Russia are involved in the conflict, actively pursuing imperious goals in the region. In order to resolve such a complicated conflict, real cooperation between powers that leads to a unified policy is necessary rather than just promises of future agreements.
The conflict in Syria consists of many different parties each fighting for its ideal society. Bashar al-Assad’s regime currently has control of the government with the backing of the military, aiming to put down the opposition forces. Moderate rebels, whose cries for revolution began during the Arab Spring, are fighting against the al-Assad regime, which they view as ineffective and oppressive. Other major forces are extremist groups including ISIS and the Al-Nusra front—groups that hope to form a caliphate or theocracy.
The involvement of the U.S. and Russia only complicates the war rather than moving it towards a solution — especially as both the U.S. and Russia are fighting separately with their own interests in mind. Agreements between the two powers so far have only been superficial, as evidenced by the collapse of a cooperation agreement only days after it was agreed earlier in September. While the U.S. has the goal of deposing the Syrian dictator — a policy they have advocated for to other leaders in the region — Russia hopes to keep Bashar al-Assad in power as an ally. Russia has accused the U.S. of avoiding attacks on extremist groups in order to have an option ready to topple al-Assad’s regime whenever necessary. The U.S. has threatened to end any cooperation in policy after blaming Russian missile strikes in Aleppo for having the unintended consequences of fueling more anger among civilians and driving more to join terrorist organizations like ISIS. It is clear that the U.S. and Russia would not be able to cooperate on a single policy, which is why a larger multinational force is the only option if it is deemed necessary for foreign powers to get involved. The situation is already difficult to control, and any addition of another player in the conflict would have to be decided by a larger group, such as the U.N., in order to avoid a policy that favors one group’s interests.
Neither the U.S. nor Russia can send ground troops into the region. The U.S. already faces a monumental debt problem and cannot afford another war after costly invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, which did not help stabilize either nation. Russia has provided many weapons and airstrikes for Bashar al-Assad’s government, but an invasion would be costly and could provoke a major international response. Neither nation has the ability nor the interest to fully commit to resolving the conflict, and by getting involved only with drones and missiles the U.S. and Russia are provoking anti-Western sentiments in the region.
The Syrian civil war has lasted for years and has no clear end in sight. Based on the current involvement of the U.S. and Russia in the area, it seems the conflict has devolved into a proxy war between two powers. It is time to put aside bitter imperialist rivalries for the sake of peace and stability in Syria.
