The president described the fall of the regime as ‘a moment of historic opportunity’ for Syrians and ‘a moment of risk and uncertainty.’
WASHINGTON—President Joe Biden addressed the nation on Dec. 8 from the White House, praising the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria while expressing caution over the immediate uncertainty for the country and the region.
The president said his administration will engage with Syrian groups to assist in creating a new government for an independent and sovereign Syria.
“At long last, the Assad regime has fallen,” Biden said. “This regime brutalized, tortured, and killed literally hundreds of thousands of innocent Syrians. A fall of the regime is a fundamental act of justice.”
Biden described the fall of the regime as “a moment of historic opportunity” for Syrians and “a moment of risk and uncertainty.”
He said that the Syrian people would decide the process of forming a new government.
“The United States will do whatever we can to support them, including through humanitarian relief, to help restore Syria after more than a decade of war,” Biden said.
Biden delivered remarks after Assad was forced to flee Syria following a swift rebel takeover of the capital city of Damascus; rebels declared victory on the morning of Dec. 8.
Biden also said the United States will support Syria’s neighboring countries—Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, and Israel—amid the potential threats posed by the power transition in Syria.
He said he will send senior U.S. officials to the region.
Assad and his family have received asylum in Russia, according to the Russian state media.
“Assad and his family have arrived in Moscow. Russia, for humanitarian reasons, has granted them asylum,” state-run Russian news agency TASS stated, citing a source in the Kremlin.
Assad’s departure brings an end to his family’s more than half-century reign over the country.
Biden said the regime fell as a result of the withdrawal of the backing of Iran, Russia, and Lebanon’s Hezbollah terrorist group over the past week.
“All three of them are far weaker today than they were when I took office,” Biden said.
US Targets ISIS Camps
According to the White House, Biden convened a meeting with his national security team, during which he ordered strikes on the ISIS terrorist group’s camps in Syria.
“The operation struck over 75 targets using multiple U.S. Air Force assets, including B-52s, F-15s, and A-10s,” U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.
There are currently no indications that any civilian casualties resulted from the strikes, CENTCOM said.
Nearly 140 munitions were dropped on the sites, according to a senior administration official.
“We targeted a significant gathering of ISIS fighters and leaders,” the official told reporters on Dec. 8.
According to the Pentagon, the United States has nearly 900 forces deployed in northeastern and eastern Syria to counter ISIS.
Biden said the United States will continue to protect U.S. soldiers from any threats while maintaining its mission against the ISIS terrorist group in eastern Syria, including the security of detention facilities where ISIS fighters are held as prisoners.
Biden noted that the United States will prevent ISIS from taking advantage of any power vacuum in Syria.
Biden: Austin Tice is ‘Alive’
Before ending his speech, Biden reiterated his pledge to bring back Austin Tice, an American journalist who was abducted in Syria in 2012.
“We believe he’s alive,” Biden said. “We have to identify where he is.”
Tice, a freelance journalist, served in the Marine Corps as an infantry officer and was kidnapped near Damascus on Aug. 14, 2012, while he was reporting on the Syrian civil war.
Five weeks after the kidnapping, a 43-second video emerged on social media with the title “Austin Tice is Alive.” It showed a distressed and blindfolded Tice being held by a group of unidentified armed men.
The Assad regime repeatedly denied accusations that it had kidnapped or was holding any American citizens within its territory.
