To say the situation in Syria is a mess is to indulge in a gross understatement. That country is in the process of descending into chaos, with the new government committing mass persecutions and murders of the country's Alawite and Christian minorities. On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed some hope for a unified Syria overseen by a "credible, non-sectarian" government. That's a laudable goal. But how realistic is it?
The United States welcomes the recently announced agreement between the Syrian interim authorities and the Syrian Democratic Forces to integrate the northeast into a unified Syria.
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) March 12, 2025
The United States reaffirms its support for a political transition that demonstrates credible,…
Secretary Rubio's statement reads in full:
The United States welcomes the recently announced agreement between the Syrian interim authorities and the Syrian Democratic Forces to integrate the northeast into a unified Syria.
The United States reaffirms its support for a political transition that demonstrates credible, non-sectarian governance as the best path to avoid further conflict.
We will continue to watch the decisions made by the interim authorities, noting with concern the recent deadly violence against minorities.
That would be the ideal goal, yes. But in this part of the world, it may not be a realistic goal.
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But there's a lot of work to be done if Syria is going to develop into anything within shouting distance of being a "credible, non-sectarian" nation.
Tensions have been on the rise since Assad's downfall, with sectarian attacks against Alawites.
The revenge killings that started Friday and have been carried out by Sunni Muslim gunmen loyal to the government are a major blow to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the faction that led the overthrow of the former government.
The assaults have continued despite promises from Syria's interim president that the country's new leaders will carve out a political future that includes and represents all the country's communities.
The Alawite minority, who had largely backed the previous dictator Bashar Assad, have been targeted in particular:
Under Assad, Alawites held top posts in the army and security agencies. The new government has blamed his loyalists for attacks against the country's new security forces over the past several weeks.
Residents of Alawite villages and towns spoke to The Associated Press about killings during which gunmen shot Alawites, the majority of them men, in the streets or at the gates of their homes.
Many homes of Alawites were looted and then set on fire in different areas, two residents of Syria's coastal region told the AP from their hideouts.
There are claims that the country's Christian minority has also been targeted.
@SecRubio can we offer refugee status to Syrian Christians who are in danger of being murdered? We need to deport 12 million people who falsely claimed asylum ASAP but surely we can give asylum to several thousand Syrian Christians who would contribute to our economy and would… pic.twitter.com/M90ugUcARX
— Christopher Calvin Reid (@ReidFirm) March 12, 2025
We need to deport 12 million people who falsely claimed asylum ASAP but surely we can give asylum to several thousand Syrian Christians who would contribute to our economy and would make great American citizens. We offered minorities in South African refugee status for a similar reason. Please consider this.
Syria has a long, long way to go to become a "credible, non-sectarian" nation. Credible may be a bit of a stretch, given that Syria's Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa was previously affiliated with al-Quaeda - and we should be extremely careful in applying that "previously" label. As for non-sectarian, that's just probably not on the table. There are no non-sectarian majority Muslim nations in that part of the world; all, including Iran, Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and the others, are by definition sectarian. Some may not actually look to wipe their minority populations off the map, as Syrian forces seem to be trying to do, but they are sectarian all the same.
The United States, as represented by our secretary of state, is trying to be a voice of reason and hope for a region and a nation that has little or none of either. That's not a bad thing, but the United States should deal with Syria now as it is, not as how we would like it to be.
There's another interesting point in this discussion: The fate of Syria's Christian minority. For all that the United States' asylum system has been abused of late, this seems a legitimate case; it would not be unreasonable for the U.S. to offer asylum to Syrian Christians (along with white South African farmers) who are legitimately facing persecution and murder. That's something the Trump administration would do well to look into.
The Middle East presents daunting challenges to the U.S. and to the world.
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