Our delay in interfering has fueled the conflict and we must stick to our alliance with the SDF – Senator Joe Lieberman
Washington DC – North-Press Agency
Hadeel Oueiss
The former Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman has blamed the complexity of the Syrian scene for the delay of the United States interference in the Syrian crisis, pointing to the importance of his country to continue its alliance with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Senator Joe Lieberman said in an interview with North-Press, that the Syrian scene has greatly complicated due to the failure of the United States to intervene earlier in the Syrian conflict, which makes the possibility of reaching an international and regional consensus similar to the goals of 2011 regarding Syria impossible and difficult to achieve now.
No substitute for the U.S. presence
The former U.S. Senator believes that the role of the United States in the Syrian war cannot be replaced by the Turkish, Russian, or another role because Turkey itself is no longer a stable country, but its concern is limited to removing the Syrian conflict from its territories, and Russia seeks to exploit the state of emptiness and take advantage from the lack of willingness of the western countries to interfere in Syria.
No sudden U.S. withdrawal
Senator Lieberman believes that President Trump will not make sudden moves in the upcoming period regarding the U.S. presence in Syria, and that he resists the desire of Turkey and Russia to remove the United States from northeast of the country.
Senator Lieberman stressed that President Trump administration is afraid of a new Turkish invasion and the collapse of countering terrorism efforts in Syria, as well as the consequences of the United States' failure to shoulder its moral responsibilities towards its allies and abandoning balance in the Middle East.
An inexpensive U.S. presence
The former U.S. Senator said that the U.S. presence in Syria provides a moderate and successful example that does not contradict with the desire of the Americans to withdraw from the wars of the Middle East since it is a non-confrontational and non-belligerent presence, but rather it is characterized by the symbolism and the political desire of the United States to maintain its alliance with the SDF and prevent the competitors from filling the void that it may leave.
Lieberman added that the presence of the United States is for political, strategic, and security reasons, and enables it to preserve its credibility and objectives in the region and preserve its ability to build future alliances and protect its national security from several dangers lurking its presence in the Middle East.
Senator Lieberman expressed his belief that the United States must stick to its alliance with the SDF, given the fact that all the threads have been left out of their hands in Syria, which ultimately led to the rise of the Islamic State terrorist group (ISIS).
SDF is our ally
The former Democratic Senator pointed out the possibility of investing in alliance with the SDF that controls a quarter of the country in order to build a long-term U.S. influence that guarantees continued defeat of terrorism and ensuring a fair political equation for all Syrian parties, by keeping the forces and their political and military weight on the ground.
Senator Lieberman pointed out that the so-called oil strategy, which ends with a U.S. presence guarantees some stability in northeastern Syria due to the timid desire of Washington to back down from the announcement of President Trump of a total withdrawal last year.
The former U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman was one of the leading politicians in the call to support the Syrian opposition since 2011, and he played a leading role in encouraging the two U.S. administrations to overthrow the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by supporting and arming the opposition in coordination with Turkey, however, Senator Lieberman believes that the Syrian scene has changed and became difficult to achieve the goals that could have been achieved in 2011.