The End of U.S. Stabilization Efforts in Syria?
Emily Burchfield - September 8, 2018
The Trump administration announced last month that it would not be releasing the over $200 million in State Department funds destined for stabilization operations in Syria, which were “frozen†by President Trump earlier in March this year pending comprehensive review. Much has been made of what this move means for the future of U.S. policy in Syria, warranting deeper examination and attention to context. For reasons addressed below, neither Trump’s tweet nor headlines asserting that the United States has ended stabilization efforts for Syria paint the full picture.
The funds in question were originally requested by the State Department for in May 2017 for FY 2018. The corresponding Congressional Budget Justification explained that assistance to Syria would help stabilize areas liberated from Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a key component of then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s Syria policy. The economic support funding—which would aid in the provision of essential services, civilian security, and local governance, among other things—was intended to act “as a bulwark against extremism and [create] the conditions for the return of displaced populations.†Combined with requested funds for demining programs, the total State Department request for Syria stabilization for FY 2018 was $191.5 million.
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