The Trump Administration Is Pursuing Regime Change in Syria Under the Guise of Fighting Terrorism: New at Reason

In January, in a public address at a Washington think tank, then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson attempted to explain the significant shift in the Trump administration’s Syria policy now that the Islamic State terrorist group was been pushed into smaller and smaller pockets of terrain.

Keeping ISIS contained so it doesn’t regenerate, Tillerson said, was only a fifth of the battle. Washington will also drastically expand into far-reaching objectives: assisting with post-conflict reconstruction; keeping U.S. troops in Syria until Bashar al-Assad is removed from power; combatting Iranian influence; and creating the conditions for millions of Syrian refugees to finally return to their homes, writes Daniel DePetris.

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