Gunning for Damascus: The US War on the Syrian Arab Republic

Abstract: Commentators across Anglophone media and academic institutions frequently have minimized the role of US-led imperialism in Syria. This trivialization has been made possible by the covert nature of the war’s initial phases. Therefore, this article aims to piece together some of the most conspicuous aspects of the empirical record of the war. It begins with a historical overview of major US attacks against Syria, as well as prevailing attitudes about Syria within the US National Security Establishment (NSE), between the end of the WWII and 2011. The second part aggregates and reviews the existing empirical record on the current war, beginning with the Bush Administration’s preparations for operations subsequently launched under the Obama Administration in 2011, then continuing to be waged under the following administrations. The conclusion offers some theoretical remarks on the wider regional context of the US’s aims in Syria, highlighting their connections to various developments elsewhere in the region, ranging from similar wars nearby, to recent political losses suffered by the Palestinian national movement.