Al Monitor: The regional embrace of Assad puts the United States in a dilemma
The US Al Monitor website posted a report talking about the regional embrace of the head of the Syrian regime, Bashar al Assad, puts the United States in a dilemma.
The report said that the US administration issued another warning to Syria’s neighbors against strengthening relations with Assad, but critics believe that Washington can do more to prevent Damascus from returning to the Arab fold.
The report quoted a senior Republican member of Congress as saying that members of the Republican-controlled House of Representatives are likely to press this year to increase the use and strengthening of sanctions against the Syrian regime.
“In general, Republicans are very frustrated that Caesar Act sanctions were almost never implemented during the Biden era”, the source added.
Charles Lister, a researcher at the Middle East Institute, said the Biden administration is in “a very difficult place with very few cards to play,” except for the threat of sanctions against US allies and partners.
Lister noted that Biden has so far dealt with the war in Syria as a crisis that must be contained, but “it isn’t enough for us to have the status quo policy when many actors around us are moving around and seeking to change the dynamic”.
