WASHINGTON (AP) – Whoever occupies the White House next, he or she will inherit one of the most complex and brutal crises in the world: the war in Syria.
With Syrian President Bashar Assad and his allies Russia and Iran dug in, neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump has articulated a comprehensive or realistic proposal that would address the multiple strands of the conflict.
The civil war, complicated by the occupation of key areas by the Islamic State group and a number of other extremist groups, has already further unsteadied the already unstable Middle East and spread outward, along with millions of refugees, around the globe.
Clinton pointed out during Sunday’s debate that she, as America’s chief diplomat, had pushed for a more robust response in Syria.
“I, when I was secretary of state, advocated, and I advocate today, a no-fly zone and safe zone,” she said at the debate. “We need some leverage with the Russians, because they are not going to come to the negotiating table for a diplomatic resolution unless there is some leverage over them.”