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In 2013, top Obama Administration officials described their policy in the Syrian War as one of keeping the war going. The administration wanted a big seat at the table for a political settlement, which officials clarified
meant ensuring that the war kept going so that there was never a clear victor.
The Trump Administration seems to be slipping into that same destructive set of priorities in Syria.
The Washington Post this week quoted
an unnamed Administration official as saying that
"right now, our job is to help create quagmires [for Russia and the Syrian regime]
until we get what we want."
As ever, what the US really wants is to have
a dominant position in post-war negotiations, so they can dictate the form that post-war Syria takes. This means ensuring that the Syrian government doesn't win the war outright.
That's not as realistic as it once was, with the Assad government, backed by Russia, having retaken virtually all of the rebel-held territory except for a far north bastion in Idlib, dominated by al-Qaeda.
This means the US now has to save al-Qaeda to keep the war going, which if we're being honest has been a recurring undercurrent in US policy in Syria for years.
Comment: Zakharchenko had survived numerous assassination attempts. It is a tragedy for his family and his people that one finally succeeded.