A new congressionally mandated report has offered a harsh critique of the U.S. government’s policy on Syria, warning that the terror threat from the region remains real and the U.S. risks losing the gains of recent years.
In the 80-page report released Tuesday, the Syria Study Group found that drawing down the American military involvement in Syria while protecting U.S. security interests in the region “have proven to be incompatible goals.”
“What U.S. forces and their partners have gained in Syria should not be discarded with a premature withdrawal,” the report said. “The United States cannot avoid or ignore the conflict in Syria.”
While Islamic State’s physical “caliphate” in Iraq and Syria has been destroyed, Syria remains “a breeding ground for terrorist organizations committed to attacking the United States, the front line for Iranian power projection, and the main stage for Russia’s return to the region,” the report warned.
President Trump has pressed to draw down the U.S. military deployment in Syria, but has agreed to keep a reduced contingent in the country to deal with security threats. But his policies have raised questions about the American commitment to help shape the postwar Syrian settlement.
“Sharp shifts and reversals in American policy, and the failure of senior U.S. government officials to prioritize the issue with their counterparts, have undermined American credibility and the effectiveness of U.S. policy,” the report said.
The final report, authored by a 12-member panel of congressionally appointed experts, presents a “road map for bipartisan action,” co-chair Michael Singh, managing director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday.
“It’s time for us to admit that our policy in Syria over the course of two administrations has been a failure,” he continued.
The group recommended the U.S. spend stabilization funds already cleared by Congress, withhold reconstruction aid to areas of Syria that remain under the control of President Bashar Assad, increase sanctions on the Assad regime, and step up efforts to isolate the regime.
“While some argue that it is too late for a reinvigorated U.S. approach to Syria, we conclude that the United States can still influence the outcome of the Syrian war in a manner that protects U.S. interests,” the report said.
Mr. Trump has faced considerable resistance, even from within his own administration, to his desire to draw down U.S. troops in Syria — part of a pledge he repeatedly offered as a candidate for president in 2016. Former Defense Secretary James Mattis resigned late last year in part of differences on Syria.
Sen. Mitt Romney, Utah Republican, questioned the administration policy Tuesday.
“I think one of the questions is whether this is a political interest that’s being pursued or a national interest that’s being pursued,” he said.
The findings come as Mr. Trump and his aides have stepped up complaints that countries in Europe and the Middle East are refusing to take back thousands of their fighters swept up in the Islamic State campaign, now being held in camps in Syria and Iraq.
Another new study this week warned Islamic State leaders are preparing a campaign to free thousands of those detained fighters and conduct raids of detainee camps in Syria and Iraq in the coming month.
According to recent findings published Monday by the Institute for the Study of War, the terrorist organization is “preparing to free its loyal fighters and followers from prisons and displacement camps across Syria and Iraq.”
• Lauren Toms can be reached at lmeier@washingtontimes.com.
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