Press. Voanews.
The U.S. and its
Western allies avoided triggering a wider war in Syria last Saturday when they
retaliated with precision missile strikes against President Bashar al-Assad for
an alleged chemical weapons attack. But there are plenty of hazards ahead that
could draw the big powers, as well as neighboring countries, deeper into the
Syria quagmire — and into direct conflict with each other, however determined
they are to avoid it, analysts said.
Washington and
its allies may have given up on seeking the removal of Assad from power, and
the rebels may now control only a few pockets of the north near the Turkish
border and in the south adjacent to Jordan, but the Syria conflict remains far
from over.
Microconflicts
abound — although they are less "micro" from the point of view of
those involved — with a struggle intensifying over the consolidation of spheres
of influence. Several outside powers are determined not only to shape post-war
Syria, but to retain significant long-term roles for themselves, as well as to
maintain territory they currently control.
In the north,
Turkey is continuing to press an offensive against America's Syrian Kurdish
allies and is threatening to expand it. Sunni Arab rebels and Kurds are at each
other's throats, risking drawing in the U.S. Al-Qaida remains a menacing and
influential force. And remnants of the Islamic State group have yet to be
mopped up.
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