Most in US Congress want to continue illegal US invasion and occupation of Syria for decades. That means continuing US sponsorship and lavish funding of Islamic terrorists there since the entire Syria “opposition” consists of Islamic terrorists

.
100% of the so-called “opposition” in Syria consists of Islamic terrorists, many “who aren’t Syrians at all, but foreign takfiri (extremist-jihadi) fighters.” None of them have the slightest interest in “democracy, gender equality or human rights.”…”The Syria Study Group,established by Congress to justify a permanent U.S. military presence, came up with…objectives, such as…“countering the threat of terrorism, protecting a rules-based international order.…Invading and dismembering a country is an odd way [for US] to support the “rules-based international order.””…As to “threats of terrorism,” US elites are the terrorists, US elites are illegal occupiers, US elites sponsor terrorism, give billions to Islamic terrorists in Syria. ….Not that it’s the first time: Jan. 2016, “A Special Relationship: The United States is teaming up with Al Qaeda, again,” Harpers.org, Andrew Cockburn
…………….. 

Everyone agrees US borders can’t or won’t be defended by the US military, instead US taxpayers should finance defense of borders of many other countries such as Israel. Two proposals for long term US presence in Syria were issued in May 2019. On 5/1/19 the Syria Study Group submitted a report to Congress, and on 5/20/19, 400 congressmen signed a letter to Trump about staying in Syria. The main difference between the two documents is that to the 400 congressmen, Syria is mainly about protecting Israel: 

7/6/19, “The Only Strategic Rationale for America’s Involvement in Syria Finally Revealed,” Strategic Culture, Elias Samo

“The SSG [Syria Study Group] was established in February 2019 and gave its interim report to Congress May 1, 2019; the report consists of detailed seven single-spaced typewritten pages. 

Subsequent to the SSG submitting of its interim report to Congress on May 1, the four hundred congressmen Letter was sent to the president on May 20. It would be natural to assume that the Letter is a condensed reflection of what the interim report contained and recommended; that was not the case. The elaborate and detailed interim report dealt with a multitude of issues centered around American national security. Ironically, the Letter to the President [by 400 congressmen] focused on the sources of threats to Israeli security: terrorism, Syria, Lebanon (Hezbollah), Iran, Turkey and Russia. Just a note regarding the difference in emphasis in the two documents. In the seven – page single spaced interim report Israel is mentioned nine times, it is mentioned twenty one times in the two page Letter. 

The first paragraph of the Letter [from 400 congressmen] states “[…] we recommend several specific steps to advance our regional security priorities, including assisting our ally, Israel, in defending itself in the face of growing threats, including on its northern border.” The reference to northern border is Syria and Lebanon. As for Syria, it is suffice to note that Israel occupied the Syrian Golan for fifty two years and annexed it recently with Trump’s blessings. Syria has not fired a shot at Israel in decades while Israel has fired hundreds of shots at Syria just recently; there are no Syrian boots on the ground in Israel, while there are Israeli boots on the ground in Syria. So much for the threat to Israel emanating from Syria. As for the Lebanese scenario, it is similar to that of Syria, albeit on a smaller scale, with one addition: Hezbollah which Israel views it a source of imminent threat. However, it is suffice to note that it is Israel which has been the source of violent onslaughts against Hezbollah.

The Letter, in the succeeding paragraphs, elaborates further on the acquisition by Syria and Hezbollah of large and more threatening sophisticated weapons to threaten the security of the regional, nuclear super power: Israel. Need one point out the ridicule? 

In the third paragraph, the Letter [from 400 congressmen] asserts: “While our nation [the US] has  

[illegally invaded Syria, continues to illegally occupy one third of Syrian land, by partnering with Islamic terrorists, financing them with billions in US taxpayer cash, to overthrow the government of Syria and destroy the lives of millions of innocent Syrians] 
 
encouraged more stable and inclusive political systems in the Middle East, the regime in Tehran has spread its influence and destabilized its neighbors for its own gain.”
 
[Image, 12/30/2018, “US flag flies in Syria’s Manbij despite pullout notice,” AFP, Delil Souleiman] 

To say this is an outrageous distortion of the truth would be an understatement. There is not a sane Iraqi, Syrian, Lybyan, Yemeni and most Muslim Arabs who would vouch to such a distortion. In fact, internationally, the US and Israel are viewed as sources of threat to international peace and security; both have boots on foreign grounds but no foreign boots on their grounds. 

Russia receives a jab at the fourth paragraph for its role “[…] to ensure the survival of the Assad regime.” It adds “Furthermore, in providing Damascus with advanced weapons like the S-300 anti-aircraft, Moscow is complicating Israel’s ability to defend itself from hostile action emanating from Syria.” 

The last part of the Letter contains three recommendations which are interrelated and converge on the core of the Letter; the security of Israel: 

*Underscore Israel’s right to self-defense.
*Increase pressure on Iran and Russia with respect to activities in Syria.
*Increase pressure on Hezbollah. 

Beyond any conceivable doubts, the Letter was dictated by Israelis or their advocates in Washington, signed and submitted by the 400 congressmen to Trump; the height of hypocrisy. What is dismaying is that hardly any voices of protests were raised in the American society at large or the political or intellectual segments about the fact that four hundred congressmen, who are elected by Americans to serve American interests, at a time when the US is bogged down in the Arab region, sign and submit a letter to the US President concerned almost exclusively with Israel Security. 

These congressmen had an opportunity to make a coherent recommendation on US policy in the Arab region in the interest of American National Interest, but instead chose to make recommendations to safeguard the wellbeing and security of a foreign state: Israel.”



.............