Link to article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/13/us-blinken-normalising-ties-syria-al-assad
After a conference held on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has stated that The United States will not attempt to normalize ties held with Syria or its president. This statement comes after a shift amongst Arab allies of the US, who are attempting to revive all economic and diplomatic ties. For example, Jordan, a faithful ally to the US, has fully opened its border with Syria in September in order to boost its struggling economy, as well as reintegrating Syria after pushing it away during the Syrian War. Jordan’s King Abdullah also spoke to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for the first time in a decade this month. In the same boat, the United Arab Emirates’ economy ministry said that they had agreed with Syria to create plans to encourage economic growth and opportunities. The US has not had a diplomatic presence in Syria for 9 years. It is not a priority for the Biden administration to reconstruct relations with Syria until human rights reforms are put into place.
In my opinion, this article is important because it highlights Syria’s relations with different Arab countries in contrast with the US. Since the Syrian war, violence has become widespread throughout the country. The US’ part in the Syrian war is mostly humanitarian aid, while other countries have used Syria for their economy. I think it is vital the US stays out of Syria as the war continues due to the alarming amount of deaths. In a direct quote from Antony Blinken, he states, “As we’re moving forward in the time ahead, keeping violence down, increasing humanitarian assistance, and focusing our military efforts on any terrorist groups that pose a threat to us or to our partners … These are going to be critical areas of focus for us.” I think this quote is important as well because it really highlights the point of view of the US and gives the reasoning behind the decision to prevent reconstruction efforts.
This relates to class because it discusses a multi-faceted issue between multiple states. While it mainly deals with Syria and the US, Jordan, The UAE, and Egypt are also involved on an international level. This means that there will be different cultural norms, which will cause conflict within the idea of ethics and morals, which is something we learned about in class. Another thing that relates to class is the idea of analysis, whether it is international or state/domestic. Finally, this relates to class because it involves states, which are like the very first things we learned about. I think this is a good article that relates to class, and it is definitely interesting to read about the way Syria has kind of crashed after the war.