ANKARA
American and European interests will soon be threatened if the atrocities by Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria are not stopped, said an American expert on Friday.
"A new wave of refugees will destabilize European democracies. The United States has interests all over the region that will be threatened by the rising chaos," said political analyst Josh Rogin, at his column for the Washington Post.
"The strategic argument is clear-cut. What happens in Syria doesn’t stay in Syria."
Idlib, just across Turkey’s southern border with Syria, falls within a de-escalation zone laid out in a deal between Turkey and Russia in late 2018.
But the Syrian regime and its allies have repeatedly violated the agreement, launching frequent attacks inside the territory, driving out nearly one million civilians from their homes in harsh winter and pushing them to the edge of Turkish border.
Overwhelmed by the new wave of refugees in addition to four million it has already been hosting, Turkey said it will no longer apprehend refugees and migrants who want to cross the border from Turkey to European countries. In less than a week, over 140,000 have made it to Greece, according to Turkish officials, despite the brutal and deadly tactics of Greek security forces to stop increasing flow of refugees and migrants.
"As our NATO ally Turkey and Russia edge closer to a violent confrontation in northwestern Syria, the situation on the ground is getting grotesquely worse. More people have fled their homes in Idlib over the past two months than all the Rohingya Muslims displaced in Myanmar over the past five years," Rogin said.
US interests at risk
Rogin explained in his column -- Why Americans should care about Syria -- that the U.S. will lose all leverage and jeopardize its national security interests in Syria if it fails to extend timely help to its allies.
He said at least six Americans are still in the jails of Assad regime, waiting to be saved, and warned that U.S.-controlled territory in Syria will be targeted next.
"Despite nine years of failed policy, the United States still has the responsibility and the ability to use its power to defend basic human dignity, while protecting our own national security interests. Stopping the killing in Syria is both our moral obligation and the best way to keep our own country safe," he said.
Rogin also warned that any vacuum created by U.S. inaction today will be filled by Daesh/ISIS terror group and Iran in the near future.
US rhetorically supports Turkey
After criticizing the performance of U.S. administrations during the course of the Syrian war, Rogin said even $108 million humanitarian assistance announced by the administration earlier this week might go to regime-controlled areas.
"To date, the administration has not provided any of the military assistance Turkey has requested, which ranges from Patriot missile batteries to intelligence and logistics support for the mission of protecting Turkish troops and Syrian civilians," Rogin said.
"The Trump administration’s response has been to publicly condemn the war crimes while offering Turkey rhetorical support and not much else."
