Donald Trump has made a declaration about the U.S.’s involvement in the long-brewing civil war in Syria. On Saturday (Dec. 7), it was widely reported that “Syrian insurgents,” as described by CBS News, had reached the capital, Damascus. The opposition group has seized major cities such as Aleppo and Hama in its organized effort to oust President Bashar al-Assad and the authoritarian regime.
Trump still has six weeks before he is inaugurated for a second term after winning the Nov. 5 presidential race against sitting Vice President Kamala Harris. In a Truth Social post, he commented on the Middle East war by stating, “Opposition fighters in Syria, in an unprecedented move, have totally taken over numerous cities, in a highly coordinated offensive, and are now on the outskirts of Damascus, obviously preparing to make a very big move toward taking out Assad.”
The Republican leader further stated that “Russia, because they are so tied up in Ukraine, and with the loss there of over 600,000 soldiers, seems incapable of stopping this literal march through Syria, a country they have protected for years. This is where former President Obama refused to honor his commitment of protecting the RED LINE IN THE SAND, and all hell broke out, with Russia stepping in.” At the end of his two-term presidency, Obama said that he remained haunted by the bloodshed.
“I would say of all the things that have happened during the course of my presidency, the knowledge that you have hundreds of thousands of people who have been killed, millions who have been displaced,” he told historian Doris Kearns Goodwin in an interview for Vanity Fair in 2016. Syria's civil war began in 2011. Iran, Russia and Hezbollah have been allies of Assad's regime.
Moreover, Trump's message continued that Assad being “forced out” may be for the best. “There was never much of a benefit in Syria for Russia, other than to make Obama look really stupid. In any event, Syria is a mess, but is not our friend, [and] THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET IT PLAY OUT. DO NOT GET INVOLVED!”