strike initially appeared decisive,
but later it became clear that the at-
tack barely dented AssadŠs military
capability. The strike did not topple
the regime or shorten the war. 1 or
did it stop chemical weapons at-
tacks, which resumed a few months
later. ObamaŠs heavily criticized
diplomatic approach didnŠt change
AssadŠs behavior either, though it
did, at least, result in the elimination
of most of the dictatorŠs chemical
weapons stockpile as well as his
production eTuipment.The U.N. team involved in this
book encountered Islamist
militias that were ostensibly
the target of the Syrian
government’s campaign. How
did hearing of these interactions
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The unarmed weapons inspectors
on the ground in Syria are among
the heroes of my book. They
operated mostly in no manŠs land,
ɿguratively and sometimes literal-
ly. The Syrian regime did not want
them poking around sensitive
military sites trying to account formissing weapons. 0 any of the reb-
elsŜand especially the IslamistsŜ
also distrusted them or saw them
as tools of the Syrian state. They
were shot at, mobbed, spied upon
and threatened. %ut they bravely
performed their mission.Overall, how would you evaluate
the U.S. experience in Syria?
There are good reasons why
many 8 .S. ofɿcials describe the
Syrian crisis as “the problem from
hell.” The options were terriblefrom the outset, and they grew
steadily worse. Absent a maMor
8 .S. military intervention in
SyriaŜan idea which was never
going to ʀy in WashingtonŜthere
was no sure way of overthrowing
the Assad regime and replacing
it with moderate rulers. Assad
proved to be Must as tenacious
as he was ruthless, and he was
backed by allies who protected
him diplomatically, at the 8 nited
1 ations, and also with troops
and planes. SyriaŠs rebels were
convinced that the 8 nited States
would ultimately come to their
rescue, but in reality Washington
was never prepared to commit
the kinds of resources needed to
help their side prevail.What do you feel are President
Biden’s greatest challenges in
Syria today, seven years later?
The war is effectively over, but
thereŠs a strong consensus view
that says the 8 nited States needs
to remain engaged in Syria, includ-
ing, presumably with a presence
on the ground. The 3 entagon has
kept a small contingent of 8 .S.forces in Syria, as a check against
IranŠs ambitions and a guarantor
against a resurgence of the Islamic
State, which still commands tens
of thousands of followers in the
region. Leaving it to others to set-
tle Tuestions about SyriaŠs future
risks a return of widespread insta-
bility that could fuel e[tremism
and put our key allies at risk.What’s next for you?
When Assad violated the chemi-
cal weapons taboo with near-im-
punity, others around the world
took notice. Since 014, the
Islamic State has e[perimented
with chemical weapons, and both
1 orth .orea and 5 ussian have
used nerve agents to kill political
opponentsŜwhile also spreading
disinformation to deʀect blame. I
worry that weŠre entering a time
where anti-democracy forces
will see value in developing new
kinds of chemical weapons,
andŜnoting the disruptive
impact of COVID-19Ŝperhaps
biological weapons. I see an ur-
gent need for investigative work
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red line
(Doubleday, February)
shares an inside look at America’s
successes and failures in Syria.NEWSWEEK.COM 15
No one had asked Sellström to
reach a verdict on who was behind the
killings in the Damascus suburbs. The
Syrians had specifically demanded
that he refrain from doing so. But
the scientist had managed to level an
accusation without uttering a word.
His discovery was indeed an
arrow, one that pointed directly
at Syrian army units in the pay of
Bashar al-Assad.Ơ From red line: the unraveling of
syria and america’s race to destroy
the most dangerous arsenal in the
world, copyright © 2021 by Joby War-
rick, published by Doubleday.HEROES ON THE GROUND The U.N. weapons inspectors were “shot at, mobbed, spied upon and
threatened. But they bravely perfomed their mission” to collect evidence of a chemical weapons attack.