tRump to Let Assad Stay Until 2021, as Putin Declares Victory in Syria

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Despite the deaths of as many as half a million people, dozens by chemical weapons, in the Syrian civil war, the Trump Administration is now prepared to accept President Bashar al-Assad’s continued rule until Syria’s next scheduled Presidential election, in 2021, according to U.S. and European officials. The decision reverses repeated U.S. statements that Assad must step down as part of a peace process.

As recently as October, after a swing through the Middle East, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said, “The United States wants a whole and unified Syria with no role for Bashar al-Assad in the government.” He told reporters travelling with him, “The reign of the Assad family is coming to an end..."
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In a surprise visit to Syria, on Monday, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin declared victory against both ISIS jihadis and Western-backed rebels.
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Diplomatically, Washington has been marginalized by the powerful troika of Russia, Iran, and Turkey, which now dominates the peace process. The New Yorker

United States marginalized. It's right there in the Putin destabilization of Western Democracies playbook. Putin wins. tRump thinks he wins because it would be another Obama era policy overturned. America loses.