Syrian opposition lowers expectations for Trump era

After years of waiting out the Barack Obama administration, the fractious Syrian opposition is finding out that time has run out under Donald Trump for any meaningful US action to force Bashar al-Assad from power.

Recent victories by Assad’s armies and their Russian and Iranian allies have crushed hope for a game-changing surge in US military and financial assistance to the beleaguered rebels. Instead, the opposition groups and their US lobbyists are uniting around a dual agenda of boosting anti-Assad sanctions and restoring order in areas recaptured from the Islamic State (IS).

“The Syrian opposition is focused on different priorities with this administration because the priorities on the ground have also changed,” Ibrahim al-Assil, a fellow at the Middle East Institute who has trained activists in Syria, told Al-Monitor. “Removing Assad is not the top priority anymore. It’s about civilian protection and the areas outside regime control.”

Early in his administration, Trump heartened the opposition with his decision to strike a regime air base following a chemical attack on Khan Sheikhoun in northeastern Syria. Obama had drawn the rebels’ ire when he called off a similar attack in 2013 after striking a deal with Russia to rid Syria of its chemical weapons.