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President Biden on Sunday praised the overthrow of Syrian tyrant Bashar al-Assad and offered US support in setting up a new government — while acknowledging concerns about the rebels’ “grim’’ terror links.
“At long last, the Assad regime has fallen. This regime brutalized and tortured and killed literally hundreds of thousands of innocent Syrians,” Biden, 82, said from the White House.
“The fall of the regime is a fundamental act of justice. It’s a moment of historic opportunity for the long-suffering people of Syria to build a better future for their proud country,” the president said.
“It’s also a moment of risk and uncertainty as we all turn to the question of what comes next,” Biden said.
The outgoing president disclosed that the US believes Assad “is alive” and is hopeful “we can get him back” while speculating that he’s in Moscow, as Russia has claimed.
On Saturday, Syrian rebels led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) stormed into Syria’s capital of Damascus, collapsing Assad’s government.
The rebels’ leader, Abu Mohammed al-Julani, has since announced that former Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi al-Jalali will oversee an interim government until power can be completely transitioned over to them.
Despite US opposition to the Assad regime, America has been wary of HTS and al-Julani because of their past affiliations with al-Qaeda. Al-Julani cut ties to the group in 2016 and has since tried to claim he’s moderated his views.
“Make no mistake, some of the rebel groups that took down Assad have their own grim record of terrorism and human rights abuses,” Biden said. “We’ve taken note of statements by the leaders of these rebel groups in recent days.
“They’re saying the right things now, but as they take on greater responsibility, we will assess not just their words but their actions.”
Biden underscored the risks of Syria becoming a haven for ISIS once again and vowed, “We will not let that happen” while noting that the US military conducted about a dozen strikes in Syria targeting the terrorist group after the collapse of the regime.
He outlined several pillars of US policy toward Syria in the meantime, including further collaboration with its neighbors of Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Israel. Biden also vowed to help “reinsure stability in eastern Syria” and “remain vigilant” of the situation.
“We will engage with all Syrian groups, including within the process led by the United Nations, to establish a transition away from the Assad regime toward [a] sovereign and independent … Syria,” Biden vowed.
“This process will be determined by the Syrian people themselves. The United States will do whatever we can to support them, including through humanitarian relief.”
Another key priority Biden laid out was to secure the freedom of Austin Tice, a journalist who was abducted in Syria more than 12 years ago.
The Assad family had ruled Syria with an iron fist for 53 years, starting with the father Hafez al-Assad, who roared to power in the aftermath of a coup.
Biden took a victory lap over the rebels’ overthrow, touting his foreign-policy efforts.
“For years, the main backers of Assad have been Iran, Hezbollah and Russia, but over the last week, their support collapsed, all three of them, because all three of them are far weaker today than they were when I took office,” Biden stressed.
“For the first time ever, neither Russia nor Iran or Hezbollah could defend this abhorrent regime in Syria. This is a direct result of the blows that Ukraine [and] Israel have delivered upon their own self-defense with unflagging support of the United States.”
The rebel forces are widely believed to have succeeded in part because of Assad’s backers being weakened when the renegades renewed their offense late last month and revived the somewhat dormant decade-plus-long civil war.
Russia was preoccupied in Ukraine, while Iran and its proxy forces such as Hezbollah had been battered by Israel.