The Obama Administration continues to insist that Assad must go. But it’s too late for that, even if the latest bombing in Aleppo stiffens U.S. spines. No one in Washington has yet made a credible case that a post-Assad Syria can hold together or that Assad and ISIS can both be defeated. If Donald Trump wins the election, he’ll probably cut a deal with Russia that recognizes Syria as a Russian problem. A Clinton White House would probably continue the Obama approach of criticism without much action, a recognition that the U.S. holds a losing hand.
The U.S. Has a Weak Hand In Syria—and Russia Knows It
