Columns

The U.S. finds itself in a schizophrenic Syrian war. Russia supports Syria's president Bashar al-Assad; the U.S. wants him removed. We have, or at least had, a sort of alliance with Russia to share intelligence. Then we attacked a Syrian air base because Syria allegedly using chemical weapons; Trump threatens more such attacks.  

Both Russia and the U.S. want ISIS defeated but then we have U.S.-supported rebels fighting Syrian troops. Supposedly, Russia only attacks ISIS, not the U.S.-supported rebels.  

Then throw into the mix, the growing tension between Russia and the U.S., i.e., the allegation that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election, and the U.S. sanctions against Russia for its annexation of Crimea from the Ukraine.  

Meanwhile, the death count and the number of refugees will continue to rise. So far the death count in the six-year conflict is 207,000 civilians of which 24,000 were children.  

In January 2017, the UN counted 4,863,684 Syrian refugees. Since his inauguration in late January, Trump has tried not once, but twice, to ban Syrian refugees from entering the U.S. The Constitutionality of the ban will be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court next term, beginning in October. Luckily 1,347 Syrian refugees made it into the U.S. during the Trump's administration — more than 40% of them under the age of 14. 

Syria's total economic losses so far are calculated at around 255 billion euros, The effects of the war will be felt for decades. It is estimated that even if the war ended now it would take 10 to 15 years for Syria’s per capita gross domestic product (GDP)-- one of the primary indicators used to gauge the health of a country's economy -- to return to pre-conflict levels. 

Unfortunately, a lasting settlement of Syria’s civil war remains elusive and the stability of the region precarious. But then again, we have the great "negotiator" as our commander-in-chief.