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Stop the Expansion of the Iranians in Syria
(Washington Post) Dennis Ross - Washington and Moscow have repeatedly issued joint statements outlining principles for addressing the conflict in Syria and reducing its horrific humanitarian consequences. Yet over and over again, the Russians have betrayed their commitments. Along with the Assad regime and the Iranians, they waged military campaigns that decimated and depopulated three of the four agreed-upon de-escalation areas, and lately have turned their attention to the fourth, in southwestern Syria. When Trump meets Putin in Helsinki on July 16 he should convey the following points: that the U.S. will maintain our small presence in Syria until the Islamic State is gone; that unless Iran's continuing entrenchment in Syria is contained, it will trigger a wider war between Israel and the Iranians; and that we will back the Israelis completely, making it in Putin's interest to stop the expansion of the Iranians and their proxies in Syria. Trump might even suggest that the Russians broker a set of red lines between the Israelis and Iranians in Syria. The writer, a distinguished fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, served in senior national security positions in the Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Clinton and Obama administrations.