A Rare Consensus in Washington Forms Amid Turkey-Syrian Clashes

As the tense calm that prevailed between Turkish and Syrian military forces has given way to open combat and increasingly lethal Turkish strikes, a new consensus has begun to form among key figures in Washington, with both Democratic and Republican leaders sounding similar notes.
 
DEMOCRATS CALL FOR GREATER AID TO CIVILIANS
 
One of the first to comment on the conflict was Democratic Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland. On February 28, he tweeted that the recent escalation between Turkey and the “Russian-backed Assad regime” put “innocent civilians in the crossfire.” Crucially, Cardin added that “the international community must seek an immediate ceasefire in Idlib, help get humanitarian supplies and assistance to displaced communities in need.”
 
Several days later, one of Cardin’s peers, Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, no friend of the Trump White House, praised a decision by the administration to dispense humanitarian aid: “This is welcome news. The United States and our allies must continue to engage to alleviate suffering and push for an immediate ceasefire to stop the brutal violence and malign ambitions of the Assad regime, Russia, and Iran.”
 
REPUBLICANS CALL FOR PRESSURE ON SYRIA, RUSSIA
 
While Democratic leaders have called for additional humanitarian aid to civilians, Republican leaders have toed a harder line, seeking to pressure Assad and Putin into retreat. Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas declared, “Russia and the Assad regime are to blame for the humanitarian disaster unfolding in northwest Syria. Our NATO ally Turkey is doing the right thing. Putin and Assad must honor their commitments and stop the massacre.”
 
In a similar vein, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said he “very much appreciate[s] what Turkey is doing to stand with the people of Idlib, Syria. It is time for the world, including the United States, to declare a no-fly zone over Idlib before the humanitarian crisis escalates.” He went on to add that “Russia’s Putin and Syria’s Assad are behaving like war criminals. There is one thing I have learned from Syria: ignoring a problem always makes it worse.”
 
A WHOLE-OF-GOVERNMENT RESPONSE
 
It has not taken long for this bipartisan consensus to find expression on the ground. On March 3, the State Department announced a new aid package of $108 million in additional humanitarian assistance to Syrian civilians in response to the ongoing crisis, noting that it was “caused by Assad regime, Russian, and Iranian forces.” This aid package is set to comprise nearly $56 million from the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration as well as over $52 million from the U.S. Agency for International Development. 
 
On the same day, while addressing reporters near the Turkey-Syrian border, U.S. special representative James Jeffrey took the American response one step further, declaring that the American government would supply U.S.-made equipment to the Turkish military in its confrontation with Syrian regime forces. “We’re willing to provide — for example the President (Trump) mentioned this — ammunition.” Jeffrey added, “Turkey is a NATO ally” and “we will make sure that the equipment is ready. As a NATO partner we share information and intelligence … and we are going to ensure that they have what they need there.”