Disinformation amid the rubble in Syria

Across social media, calls have been mounting for the United States and Europe to lift sanctions against the Syrian government considering the deadly earthquake that has killed and injured many thousands of people in Syria and Turkey.

But we must remember who is running Syria and why sanctions were imposed to begin with. The U.S. government has imposed sanctions against the Syrian regime going back to 1979 because of its designation as a state sponsor of terrorism and its occupation of Lebanon. Following President Bashar al-Assad’s brutal crackdown on protesters demanding change in 2011, the U.S. imposed additional targeted sanctions to deprive the regime of the resources it needs to continue its violence against civilians, including blocking property of regime officials and prohibiting the U.S. importation of Syrian oil.

Nobody should be fooled by Assad’s latest attempt to wiggle out of sanctions with misleading, oversimplified propaganda, very likely propelled by a Russian misinformation campaign, years in the making with the earthquake as the latest excuse.

Assad is notorious for using chemical weapons and for shamelessly diverting aid and channeling development funds into government coffers. One study found that Damascus retained 51 cents of every international aid dollar channeled through the government to be spent in Syria in 2020.

Although the U.S. makes exemptions to sanctions for humanitarian aid, Western countries are rightfully wary of giving bilateral aid to Damascus because of its persistent practice of massively exploiting and depriving other regions within the country.

Indeed, the northwest region of Syria is more likely to face renewed reprisal than assistance from the national government because the region is controlled by various opposition groups, with which the national government fought bitterly during the decade-long civil war. 

A ceasefire was finally, tenuously negotiated in 2020. Assad, exploiting the international community’s sympathy and shock following the earthquake, is now leveraging the disaster as a bargaining chip to shame Western countries into lifting their sanctions as a public relations platform to improve his own political position.

At the same time, he is holding back from victims direct aid sent by Iraq, Algeria, Russia and the UAE, among others, arguing that empowering the rebel groups would be a violation of national sovereignty.

Next, expect Assad to weaponize aid to renew conflict in the region while he has the upper hand against the weakened opposition groups. A breach of the ceasefire would pile even more suffering on Syrians already struggling to recover from decades of bloody civil war, brutal repression, economic collapse and one of the worst natural disasters of the century.

The U.S. is the largest contributor of humanitarian aid to Syria. Experienced aid groups are already on the ground responding to the crisis, including the White Helmets (also known as the Syrian Civil Defense), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United Nations. The humanitarian response was hindered by Syria’s structural problems, including a weak infrastructure from frequent bombings and difficulty accessing regions where groups are fighting. Sanctions did not get in the way. What got in the way was Syria politics.

Local Syrian government administrators tried at first to prevent humanitarian workers from entering with aid. Finally, the first UN aid convoy was able to enter Syria.  

Going forward, the best thing the international community can do is negotiate additional crossing points for aid to reach Syria before it is too late. A single crossing – choked by complex geopolitics that dehumanize the inconceivable suffering of many thousands of victims – is criminally insufficient to meet the dire need of Syrians at this critical moment.

At the same time, we must donate to the brave groups racing against the clock and bitter cold to ensure that they have the money and resources they need to save lives.

Tara D. Sonenshine is former U.S. undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs. The author would like to thank Sairah Aslam for her valuable contributions to this piece.