By Dr. Najm al-Ahmad
Minister of Justice of the Syrian Arab Republic 2012 – 2017, Professor at the Faculty of Law in Damascus University
The illegal intervention of the United States in Syria internal affairs can be evaluated altogether as a political, economic and legal issue. The acts of the United States are not based on any legal legitimacy. They can be considered a flagrant violation of the basic principles of the international law and the United Nations Charter, especially their contradiction with the principle of state sovereignty and involvement in unilateral coercive measures in order to achieve illegitimate goals.
There are many political goals pursued by the United States, mainly its support for terrorist organizations and separatist forces, especially in the East of the Euphrates. In return for all this, the United States does not heed any attention to the suffering of the Syrian people as a consequence of its wrong doings and illegal policies, as exemplified in the economic siege imposed on the country, and the low standards of living of the Syrian people, who are lacking now the basic rights for life survival, especially after the enormous earthquake that struck Türkiye and Syria simultaneously.
Of course, the visit by the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley to northeast Syria, is only one of a large series of illegal US interventions in the Middle East in general and in Syria in particular. During his visit, Milley declared unequivocally that the goal was to provide support for the separatist forces represented by the terrorist Syrian Democratic Forces organization.
As for the second declared goal of the visit, i.e. “fighting terrorism in all parts of Syria,” it was a statement that lacks validity and objectivity. No country provided support to terrorist organizations in Syria as the United States did: The terrorist “ISIS” group is the creation of the United States in the region. And more importantly, who asked the United States to intervene in Syria for any reason whatsoever?
There is no doubt that the illegal actions of the United States, including the visit of the American Chairman of Joint Chief of Staff, which is unwelcome, represents a threat to security and stability in the region. It threatens the sovereignty of Syria by undermining its territorial integrity.
The actions of the United States in the East of the Euphrates and in northern Syria also pose a threat to Turkish national security, because the region will be a springboard for terrorist organizations and separatist forces to implement their own agenda by carving out in the future part of the Turkish land, as it was intended to be ripped off from the Syrian land. Their goal is to plant a hybrid entity in the region, similar to that of Israel. The US will use the new virtual entity as a tool after being established to serve its multifaceted purposes. It is divide and rule policy. This is the endgame.
As such, the visit constitutes a threat to the entire Middle East, including Iraq and Iran, and serves the purpose of disrupting the Turkish-Syrian rapprochement.
The US administration must stop violating international law and supporting terrorist organizations and separatist forces. The international community must assume its responsibilities in condemning such despicable behavior… And if Milley claims that “the deployment of US forces in Syria has been nearly eight years… it is still worth the risk”, we tell him they will have to bear the consequences of this risk.
If the international community is in a state of humiliating silence, the people of the region in the east of the Euphrates will inflict a defeat on your forces that will be recorded in history, by resisting your occupation with all available means. We only have to wait for the coming days for everyone to see what will happen in terms of the course of the coming events that may hold surprises for the Americans.