US Holds Syria Recovery Funds

The White House has instructed the US State Department to freeze more than $US200 million in the form of funds which it has allotted for the “recovery efforts” in Syria. The declaration came, a day after US President Donald Trump declared in a speech that the US would leave Syria “very soon”, which was also an indication the US President wants to disengage from the war-torn country.

To be precise, the State Department spent $200 million on stabilization work in Syria, including removing unexploded weapons and restoring water, power and electricity last year and had designated $225 million for those same services this year.

The fund in the form money have been spent by the State Department for reconstruction works in Syria like infrastructure projects including restoring power, water and roads and this was initiated by the then US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson as he was of the view that the US forces must remain engaged in Syria in order to prevent IS and Al-Qaida from returning and to deny Iran a chance to strengthen its position in Syria.

The hold on the money, also will go against Trump, who just a few months ago agreed to an open ended strategy to defeat the ISIS and prevent a power vacuum that would allow them to return other powers like Iran and Russia.

Though the statement released by State Department has a different take, when it says, it is continuously reviewing the appropriate assistance levels and continues to work with the international community along with the members of the anti-ISIS coalition and partners on the ground to provide much needed stabilization support to the vulnerable areas in Syria.

“The United States is working every day on the ground and with the international community to help stabilize those areas liberated from ISIS and identify ways to move forward with reconstruction once there has been a peaceful political transition away from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad,” the statement said. 

Pentagon also has voiced differently over the issue. “The mission of the Department of Defence to defeat ISIS has not changed,” said Major Adrian Rankine-Galloway, a Pentagon spokesman. As the President’s office has not given any clear instructions, the planning for a withdrawal from Syria had not yet started, officials said and Trump had not advocated a specific timetable.

United States has deployed more than 2000 military personal in Syria in an international effort to defeat the ISIS or Islamic State group, an extremist organisation that once controlled swathes of Syria and neighboring Iraq.

ISIS has been driven out from all the territory when controlled in Iraq and 95 percent from its former territory in Syria, but the remaining 5 per cent of the rebels are increasingly becoming difficult to clear, which may some more months to clear.

According to some sources US President Donald Trump has called for the spending freeze after reading a news report that said the US had committed the funds for useless recovery efforts in Syria’s seven year civil war.

As the war affected Syria needs international assistance from United Nations and NATO, US also has called for other governments to step up and share more of the burden so that Washington doesn’t foot much of the bill. Therefore Donald Trump’s administration is seeking financial commitments from other countries to fund reconstruction in both Syria and Iraq.

The abrupt change in the President’s thinking has drawn concern both inside and outside the US. The nations who are the part of the US-led coalition, in its war against the ISIS, fears that if Trump pull out hastily, would allow the resourceful ISIS militants to regroup and become active again.

Israel is America’s closest ally in the Mideast and other regional nations like United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are deeply concerned about the influence of Iran and its allies, which includes the Hezbollah, the Shiite militant group active inside Syria.

US President Donald Trump's aides want US presence in Syria to be open ended not only because ISIS has yet to be entirely defeated, but also because the resulting power vacuum could be filled by other extremist groups or by Iran and Russia. 

Now, what is to be watched for, is the two of the biggest powers with their presence in Syria are Iran and Russia, and if the U.S. exits the region, they would prop up with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad forces and would surely fill the void left behind by the US. The move is going to unnerve Israel and Saudi Arabia, biggest ally of US in the Middle East.