Rex Tillerson: U.S. ‘Hoping to Avoid an Outbreak of Civil War’ in Syria Post-Islamic State

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States hopes to prevent a civil war from erupting in Syria after the defeat of the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL), Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters Tuesday.

A brutal civil war between the opposition and forces loyal to dictator Bashar al-Assad, who is backed by Russia and Iran, has been raging in Syria since 2011.

The Secretary of State declared:

If we think about Syria post the defeat of ISIS, what we are hoping to avoid is an outbreak of a civil war because we really, as you know, have two conflicts underway in Syria; the war against ISIS, [and] the civil war that created the conditions for ISIS to emerge.

Again, we’re working closely with Russia and other parties to see if we can agree on a path forward on how to stabilize Syria.

Although he conceded that the United States does not approve of Russia’s support for Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, he also said that both countries are committed to the stability of Syria post-ISIS.

“We share the common view of ISIS as a threat to both of our countries and, so, we are committed to the defeat of ISIS, Daesh, other terrorist organizations,” proclaimed Tillerson, referring to the United States and Russia.

Some assessments have revealed that the majority of Russian airstrikes have failed to target ISIS in Syria.

Tillerson added:

We’re working with Russia through how do we achieve the end state, which is a unified Syria, not divided, but a Syria that has the opportunity for the Syrian people to put in place a new constitution, have free and fair elections, and select a new leadership. And it continues to be our view that the Assad regime has no role in the future governing of Syria. The sequencing of all of that, we’re open to, as long as that is achieved at the end.

He acknowledged that the U.S.-Russia relationship has been under considerable stress lately.

Currently, U.S.-backed local forces are fighting to liberate Raqqa, ISIS’s de-facto capital in Syria that is believed to be the group’s last major stronghold inside its so-called caliphate.

“We’re assisting with the liberation of Raqqa, which is moving at a faster pace than we originally anticipated,” pointed out the Secretary of State. “However, all of us, I think, are clear-eyed and understand that, even there, that battle will hit a core resistance and it’ll be a very tough fight to ultimately liberate all of Raqqa.”

The defeat of ISIS in Iraq and Syria is imminent, according to some analysts who believe the jihadist organization will continue to wreak havoc after its demise in through the branches it has established across the world.

Experts such as Katherine Zimmerman from the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) believe that Syria has become a jihadi breeding ground, particularly for al-Qaeda.

“Al Qaeda’s main effort is in Syria, which has become the world’s largest jihadist incubator. Al Qaeda’s intent in Syria is to embed within the uprising against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al Assad and to transform that uprising into a global religious insurgency,” Zimmerman told U.S. lawmakers last month.

She says al-Qaeda has set the conditions to establish an Islamic emirate inside Syria.

Echoing other experts, Zimmerman indicated that al-Qaeda would be able to incorporate the remnants of ISIS should the jihadist organization collapse.