April 12, 2018 | Quoted by Susan Crabtree - The Washington Free Beacon
Bolton’s First Test: Helping Trump Take a Longer View on Syria
New National Security Adviser John Bolton will be crucial in guiding President Donald Trump toward a long-term solution in Syria, but it will be a tougher job now that Iranian and Russian forces are entrenched in the conflict, national security experts said Monday.
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“He can't simply say, ‘we're taking care of this with a bomb,' and move on,” Jonathan Schanzer, a vice president at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “The policy under Obama was disastrous. The problem is that the disaster has continued.”
The weekend's chemical attack brings into focus the need for a policy that extends beyond shutting down ISIS operations there, Schanzer said.
“The president's instincts are to leave Syria as soon as the ISIS problem is contained, but that will not bring an end to the devastating war that continues in Syria.”
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Schanzer pointed to multiple options Obama decided against deploying that Trump could now take up, including the U.S. military leading the creation of safe zones or “no-fly zones” to protect civilian communities, more irregular warfare, and greater economic and diplomatic pressure.
The United States needs a strategic plan for Syria, something Schanzer argues was “completely lacking” during the Obama administration and has made Trump's job far more difficult as a result.
“From the outbreak of the war until the president left, the goal was to ignore the problem and stay out of Iran's way,” he said. “With Trump coming in, the focus appeared to be to finish up the battle against ISIS, which is going well, but that does not address the rest of the Syria problem—that Syria remains under control of Russia, Iran, Hezbollah and Assad, which is very troubling in terms of American interest and regional stability.”
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“The question is can Bolton come in and help the president refocus?” Schanzer said. “I think so because he's coming in with a significant amount of good will with the president, but he's also coming in at a challenging time.”
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Read the full article here.