President Joe Biden said on December 8 that the sudden collapse of the Syrian government under Bashar Assad was an overdue and “fundamental act of justice” after decades of repression, but it was also “a moment of risk and uncertainty” for the Middle East.
President Biden spoke at the White House hours after after rebel groups completed a takeover of the country following more than a dozen years of violent civil war and decades of leadership by Assad and his family.
President Biden said the United States was monitoring reports of the whereabouts of Assad, with Russian state media saying he had fled to Moscow and received asylum from his longtime ally.
President Biden credited action by the U.S. and its allies for weakening Syria’s backers — Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah. He said “for the first time” that they could no longer defend Assad’s grip on power.
“Our approach has shifted the balance of power in the Middle East,” President Biden said, after a meeting with his national security team.
The U.S has about 900 troops in Syria, including forces working with Kurdish allies in the opposition-held northeast to prevent any resurgence of the Islamic State group.
President Biden said he intended for those troops to remain, adding that U.S. forces on Sunday conducted “precision air strikes” on IS camps and operations in Syria. U.S. Central Command said the operation hit more than 75 targets.
“We’re clear-eyed about the fact that ISIS will try and take advantage of any vacuum to reestablish its credibility, and create a safe haven,” President Biden said, using a different acronym for the group. “We will not let that happen.”
The Syrian opposition that brought down Assad is led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which the U.S. says is a terrorist organization with links to al-Qaida, although the group says it has since broken ties with al-Qaida.
“We will remain vigilant,” President Biden said. “Make no mistake, some of the rebel groups that took down Assad have their own grim record of terrorism and human rights abuses.” He added that the groups are “saying the right things now.”
“But as they take on greater responsibility, we will assess not just their words, but their actions,” President Biden said.
A senior President Biden administration official, when asked about contact with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leaders after Assad’s departure, said Washington was in contact with Syrian groups of all kinds. The official, who was not authorized to publicly discuss the situation and spoke on condition of anonymity, also said the U.S. has focused over the past several days on chemical weapons that had been controlled by the Assad government, aiming to ensure they were secured.
Still, Assad’s fall adds to an already tense situation throughout much of region on many fronts — including Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza and its fragile cease-fire with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Daniel B. Shapiro, a deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, said the American military presence will continue in eastern Syria but was “solely to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS and has nothing to do with other aspects of this conflict.”
“We call on all parties in Syria to protect civilians, particularly those from Syria’s minority communities to respect international military norms and to work to achieve a resolution to include the political settlement,” Shapiro said.
“Multiple actors in this conflict have a terrible track record to include Assad’s horrific crimes, Russia’s indiscriminate aerial bomb bombardment, Iranian-back militia involvement and the atrocities of ISIS,” he added.
Shapiro, however, was careful not to directly say Assad had been deposed by the insurgents.
“If confirmed, no one should shed any tears over the Assad regime,” he said.
As they pushed toward the Syrian capital of Damascus, the opposition freed political detainees from government prisons. The family of missing U.S. journalist Austin Tice renewed calls to find him.
“To everyone in Syria that hears this, please remind people that we’re waiting for Austin. We know that when he comes out, he’s going to be fairly dazed & he’s going to need lots of care & direction. Direct him to his family please!” – Debra Tice, Tice’s mother (via social media)
Tice disappeared in 2012 outside Damascus, amid intensification of what became a civil war stretching more than a decade.
“We’ve remained committed to returning him to his family,” President Biden said at the White House. “We believe he’s alive, we think we can get him back but we have no direct evidence to that yet. And Assad should be held accountable. We have to identify where he is.”
The U.S. has no new evidence that Tice is alive but continues to operate under the assumption that he is, according to a U.S. official. The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly, added that the U.S. will continue to work to identify Tice’s whereabouts and to try to bring him home.
