After Syria strike, US needs strategy to remove Assad

What the drowning of Aylan Kurdi, the refugee toddler whose death drew an outpouring of sympathy around the world, failed to do, harrowing images of beautiful babies gasping for breath surrounded by dead bodies have done. The images brought about Trump’s change of heart on Syria. But it is too late. The protracted Syrian civil war has already killed an estimated 470,000 and left more than a million injured. The war has driven more than 11.3 million people from their homes.
But the things are worst for children in Syria. The April 4 chemical attack by Assad regime in Khan Sheikhoun has highlighted the vulnerability of millions of children. The dead bodies of young kids were a grim reminder that behind the dirty politics of war is hellish reality of life in Syria.
As many as 8.4 million children – more than 80 percent of Syria’s child population – have been affected by the conflict, living either in Syria or as refugees in neighbouring countries, says a UNICEF report. The cases of violations against children are rife. No place is safe for Syria’s children. They are being killed and maimed by explosive weapons in populated areas. More than 60,000 children have died so far. Of the 6.5 million Syrians who’ve been internally displaced from their homes, an estimated 2.8 million are children. For many of these kids, poor nutrition and lack of access to healthcare have become life-threatening issues. In the war-ravaged country, 8 in 10 kids are in need of humanitarian assistance. And then there are those caught in the war zone and living abroad as refugees. Their lives are worse than death. They are dying many deaths every day.
Trump deserves a pat on his back for his quick decision to carry out cruise missile attack on Syrian bases from where the chemical attack was launched. It was a fitting initial response to the violation of Chemical Weapons Convention and will serve in restoring deterrence. But it will take more than cruise missile diplomacy to restore peace in Syria. Trump should plan for something bigger.
Not everyone was cheering Trump’s decision. His military move puts the US and Russia into a potentially dangerous stand-off as Moscow stands behind Assad. Putin condemned the attack on the Syrian air base as an “act of aggression against a sovereign state.” The Kremlin accused Washington that cruise missile attack is a move to sabotage the gain made by Russia to bring peace in Syria. Moscow says that its aim is to keep Syria secular and independent. But Russia’s claim does not hold water as it allowed Assad unleash the worst atrocities against its people with impunity. Moscow played the veto card to protect Assad at United Nations. US decision to strike Syrian base sends a tacit message to Putin that Trump’s expressed desire to improve US relations with Moscow has limits.
Although much of the international community commended Trump’s decision to fire the cruise missiles in reaction to the chemical weapons attack in Syria, there is a need of a wider strategy to remove Assad from the helm. Given the harsh fact on the ground, it needs more than a cosmetic approach to end the Syrian conflict.