Letter to the Editor: No more of the same in Syria

President of Americans for a Free Syria, Lina Murad, writes the Trump administration must act now in a letter to the editor.

By Lina Murad, Washington Post
October 5, 2018

President Trump assembled a team at the State Department that understands the conflict in Syria and how best to achieve U.S. national security interests and a political solution that benefits the Syrian people.

In late August, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo brought on James Jeffrey as special representative for Syria engagement and Joel Rayburn as special envoy for Syria. They will address all the facets of the crisis: political transition, humanitarian assistance, counterterrorism, protection of civilians and justice for victims of the Syrian regime.

They get it: Syria under President Bashar al-Assad will never be stable. Russia cannot be trusted to stop Iran’s menacing presence in Syria, especially near our ally Israel. U.S. engagement in Syria repels Russian and Iranian adventurism. Increased pressure from European countries is key to the diplomatic effort. Sending money to Mr. Assad to rebuild his country rewards bad behavior and harms displaced Syrians whose land has been confiscated. Mr. Assad must be held accountable for his war crimes. Iran’s military and proxy forces must leave Syria.

We’ve waited seven years since Mr. Assad violently cracked down on peaceful protesters. It’s up to Mr. Trump to empower them to see these objectives through.

Read the original letter: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/no-more-of-the-same-in-syria/2018/10/05/972cda46-c83b-11e8-9c0f-2ffaf6d422aa_story.html?utm_term=.73dce0d40f0b