Editorial Board

What the U.S. Lost in Syria

The deal cut by Iran, Russia and Turkey shows how little influence Washington has in the Middle East.

January 4, 2017 at 4:11 PM UTC

By The Editorial Board

The Editorial Board publishes the views of the editors across a range of national and global affairs.

To the victors go the spoils.
Photographer: Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP/Getty Images

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The duration of the latest Syrian cease-fire may matter less than its genesis. Russia, Turkey and Iran brokered the agreement without U.S. involvement -- a worrying sign of the waning regional influence of the world's only superpower.

Whether this decline is temporary or permanent remains to be seen. What is abundantly clear is that, having decided not to intervene to stop the worst humanitarian catastrophe since World War II, U.S. President Barack Obama lacked both the leverage and the standing to be part of a solution. The resulting agreement could doom the U.S. proxy forces fighting the Syrian civil war.