Did US Sanctions Help Sink Syria?
Economic sanctions are a brutal cudgel affecting the average citizen far more than the governments it is designed to topple. For instance, there is little evidence that the lifestyle of recently deposed Syrian Leader Bashar al-Assad was adversely affected by the American Sanctions. Yet the everyday Syrian has suffered through 11 years of civil war, and their corresponding diminishing economic fortune made all the worse by the imposition of American economic sanctions.
That’s the distinguishing characteristic of sanctions: They’re invisible. Sanctions hide behind economic woes, higher prices, shortages, and a lower standard of living — all suffered by Syria since the United States instituted its most recent round against it in 2019.
On December 20, 2019, President Donald Trump signed the “Caesar Syrian Civilian Protection Act,” a law ironically designed to protect the Syrian People from President al-Assad, whom the Act asserted was a “War Criminal.”
We now know that while the Caesar Sanctions were successful in removing Assad from power, its cost was borne primarily by the Syrian people, the very people the Act was to protect.
Syria is one of the poorest countries in the world. In 2019, the year the Caesar Act was signed, the per capita GDP of Syria was a meager $3,100; two years later, under the restraints of the sanctions, per capita GDP had DECLINED to $2,900.
https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/syria/#economy
By comparison, US per capita GDP was $71,000 in 2021–10% higher than 2020.
Unfortunately, the 2021 data is the most recent available. However, anecdotal evidence indicates that the Syrian Economy continued to decline in 2022 and 2023.
These economic woes profoundly affected Syria’s ability to defend itself. Last week, when Syria was attacked by Hay’at Tahrir ash-Sham (HTS), the country looked to those same everyday citizens in the Syrian Army to defend them. However, these citizen-soldiers have been suffering under the economic privation of today’s Syria. Speaking on the Judge Napolitano Podcast, Alistair Crooke, former British Diplomat to the Middle East and current resident in Beirut, indicated that Syrian soldiers are paid less than $10 monthly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX2X9KT9Xmg
When HTS offered the soldiers $400 to come over to their side, many took the offer. This would explain why the entire country fell in such short order. Although we cannot confirm Crooke’s thesis, it describes the recent events in Syria.
That’s the sinister nature of Sanctions. They’re nearly invisible. Many in Syria likely didn’t know what hit them. Economically, things just got worse and worse, but the “why” was unseen.
For years, Syria has suffered because they have been restricted from imports of medicines and medical equipment. Cancer and other serious disease treatments in Syria have been substandard because the country cannot import the Pharmaceutical products used in standard treatments.
Charities have been restricted from sending much-needed aid to Syria because to do so might support a “terrorist state.”
Syria lags far behind the rest of the world in technology because it cannot import the most recent American, European, and Asian computers, software, and other technology.
The list goes on and on.
As you can imagine, the US Department of State, the Office of Foreign Assets Control, and the Department of Treasury thoroughly enforce America’s Sanctions.
United States Sanctions and Prohibitions against Syria go back to 1979; however, they were dramatically increased after the Civil War broke out in 2011. During that war, it’s alleged that the Assad Government used chemical weapons in fighting the rebels.
These are the same Chemical Weapons that the US and Israeli Air Forces are relentlessly bombing. In nearly two days of around-the-clock missions, the USAF and IAF have conducted literally hundreds of raids designed to mitigate any remaining weapons of mass destruction. Axios reports that an unnamed US Official said:
“The U.S. has “good fidelity” on the status of Syria’s weapons inventory and that US intelligence experts believe it is still under control.”
https://www.axios.com/2024/12/08/syria-chemical-weapons-assad
Let’s hope and pray that any weapons of mass destruction are destroyed.
For what it’s worth, Axios goes on to say that the Rebels have indicated that they are not interested in chemical or biological weapons. However, like the entire article, the claim is made by an “unknown source,” who may or may not have the authority to speak for HTS or any other group.
Like every aspect of these battles, the objectives are not always clear, and the so-called “spokespeople” may not be representative — their true motives are unknown.
Over the weekend, Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani, the leader of HTS, was interviewed on CNN. In the course of the interview, he indicated that he was no longer the radical Jihadist of his youth and that he promised to protect all the people under his control, including Christians, Alawites, and Muslims. We will know in time whether this is his true vision for Syria.
On the other hand, Israel indicates that its massive bombing campaign against Syrian military outposts is to eliminate those weapons of mass destruction. Again, that may indeed be their principal motive. However, it is also the case that Israel is currently destroying the military of their principal opponent to the north.
Perhaps it’s time for those in America to eliminate our propensity for seeing everything as black and white, good and bad. Today’s Middle East is replete with dark and light grays. After all, the Syrian “liberators” have a background of brutal extremism. While Israel is renowned for taking advantage of any situation.
But one thing we do know now is Bashar al-Assad is gone, and with him, the reason for those oppressive American Economic Sanctions. Let’s consider lifting those Syrian Sanctions, at least to allow international aid to come to the Syrian people. In 2023, after the Turkey-Syria Earthquake, we waved the sanctions for six months. It’s time to do that again. It’s the least we could do.
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