Before the tide turned in Syria, refugees were pouring out of the country. Many have since returned. Deposing Assad could very well lead to a situation similar to Libya where Ghadaffi was replaced with ungovernable factions and has since turned into a terrorist haven.
There have been papers suggesting that if the US cannot replace Assad (Putin, the Ayatollah, etc) with a pro-Western puppet, the next best objective is to make the country into a failed state(s). As such, US policy cannot be opposed, and terrorism can then be directed from the failed state to regional countries that are competitors to the US.
Think about it. No opposition to US policy and another terror hub where chaos can be exported to Iran and Russia. Totally opposite to fighting terror. More like channeling terror; not necessarily to obtain geopolitical objectives, but to thwart competing nations (Russia, China, Iran) from obtaining their geopolitical and political objectives.
It's a sick policy, it demands destroying the lives of millions of innocent civilians, but I've no doubt there is a faction within the US government advocating something like this.
Last edited: Apr 10, 2018