Loading ...Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad Removal of Power No Longer U.S. Priority
BY: Michelle Dermarkar/Contributing Writer
Nikki Haley, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, spoke with a group of journalists this week and stated that “our priority is no longer to sit there and focus on getting Assad out.” The Trump administration believes defeating the Islamic State (ISIS) takes a higher precedence than trying to persuade Syrian president Bashar al-Assad from stepping down.
The Syrian civil war has brought in numerous armed groups, including terrorist groups such as the Islamic State, which has managed to seize a vast amount of land in Syria, as well as Iraq.
Unlike the previous administration’s stance on Assad, Haley believes that America’s focus needs to be on protecting the people of Syria and demolishing the terrorist groups that have established a “terrorist safe haven” in the country. She asserted, “Our priority is to really look at how do we get things done, who do we need to work with to really make a difference for the people of Syria.”
A senior Trump administration official echoing Haley’s comments stated “a measure of just realism, accepting the facts on the ground…. Assad is never going to have sufficient force to maintain control over the whole country.”
The ambassador agrees that President Assad is a hindrance to Syria, however, she feels that there is more priority to defeat ISIL and Al-Qaeda, while preventing Syria from further becoming a haven for terrorists. Haley declared, “What we are going to focus on is putting the pressure in there so that we can start to make a change in Syria.”
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said that Assad’s longer-term presidential status “will be decided by the Syrian people.”
The U.S. has coincided with the UN-backed peace plan that would “see Assad ‘transition’ from office while an interim government is formed.”
