Direct Intervention in Syria 'May Not Serve America's National Interests'

(Sputnik News)- Washington needs to develop a clear strategy in Syria and answer the question of what its national interests in the Syrian war are, US-based journalist Antoun Issa notes, throwing into question the "necessity" of the US' direct military involvement in Syria.

The next US administration should determine what America's interests in the Syrian civil war are, Antoun Issa, a US-based Lebanese-Australian journalist, notes. 

Meanwhile, it still remains unclear what exactly the US interests in the Syrian conflict are, he remarks.

Issa notes that the Syrian war does not pose a threat to the US, nor does it take place in a country "of great strategic value" to Washington. However, the spread of terrorism in the region remains Washington's primary concern.

 On the other hand, according to Issa, Russia's Syrian operation has posed "a direct challenge to America's leadership in managing global security and maintaining a monopoly on the use of force" for the first time since the end of the Cold War.

 "Should the United States allow Russia to dictate the outcome of the Syrian conflict, and expose American weakness, it could encourage a repeat in behavior elsewhere," Issa underscores, adding that "in terms of global security and great power relations, Syria should absolutely matter to Washington." 

He explained that the crux of the matter is that Russia would be forced to beef up its military presence in Syria, in the event of Daesh's offensive. However, it would mean Russia's further involvement in Middle Eastern affairs.

For his part, Stanislav Tarasov, head of the Middle East Caucasus think-tank, deems that Russia should avoid getting bogged down in the Syrian conflict and seek to establish closer ties with Turkey and Iran. 

Tarasov pointed out that it seems embarrassing that more than 60 states, involved in the Syrian war, cannot defeat Daesh, which comprises about 18-20 thousand fighters. In reality, it is hardly surprising given Washington's double-standard approach toward the Syrian conflict, he stressed.