Millard Grimes: Syrian war seems to be ending

The tragic four-year civil war in Syria is grinding to a deadly conclusion, marked by continuing death and destruction, including the bombing of hospitals, while hundreds of additional refugees flee the fighting. A conclusion will not only be a profound blessing to the tortured people of Syria, but for the entire world since the roots of ISIL, the terrorist group which has seized half of Syria - plus control of the fear mongers in the United States - would be eradicated.

ISIL's headquarters is in northern Syria. Its leader, a refugee from the late Saddam Hussein's Iraq, lives there. The rewards of ending the war can be significant; unfortunately, the U.S. will not be among the main celebrants.

The war is being fought to a conclusion by the nations supporting Syrian President Assad's resistance to the disparate rebel groups, of which the strongest seems to be ISIL. They are losing the war and therefore are asking for a ceasefire negotiation, which the U.S. supports but which Russia and Iran, Assad's main foreign backers, oppose.

They oppose a ceasefire at this time, desirable as that would be, because the rebelling groups are on the verge of defeat. Most wars are concluded with surrender by one side.

The humane course would be for the rebels to surrender: they are outnumbered; they face an organized central government that has a standing army of nearly 100,000, apparently still committed to the Assad government, which has controlled Syria for more than 40 years. It has its strongest position since the war began. It only needs US support to gain final success and that should be forthcoming.

The Syrian uprising was a product of the so-called Arab Spring in 2011 which turned into a mirage through most of the Middle East. Syria became a battleground; Yemen, where the Spring began, is wracked by civil war; Libya, where the US assisted in the overthrow of Moammar Khadafi, is now a breeding ground for new terrorists; Egypt ousted its pro-Western Government, only to reinstate it in weakened condition several years later; Iraq was already shattered by two American military attacks, which left its cities without power or water or other facilities for years; and where terrorist groups such as ISIL found fertile ground.

Even a tentative peace in Syria, should it finally break through, will only be the beginning of a solution and will be possible only if the US joins with Russia, Iran and other Middle Eastern powers in recognizing the opportunity.

For some reason, the U.S., since the time of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, has stubbornly clung to support for the faceless rebels against the Assad regime. Admittedly, Assad is not to be confused with Thomas Jefferson, but he had ruled in relative peace until the Arab Spring unleashed terrorist attacks and Syria fought back.

Assad held enough support to repel most of the attacks for four years and now, with the air support from Russia and the U.S., and ground support from Iran, he is on the verge of victory, which is the only solution for ending of the misery of the Syrian people, and providing a way to stamp out the source of infection that has spread ISIL.

Some of the most effective fighters against ISIL have been Kurdish forces and northern Syria, along Turkey's borders. Turkey, with a large Kurdish minority, considers these fighters in Syria as terrorists and has urged the US to oppose them. Obviously, that would divide the forces against ISIL, which also include members from the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah, a thorn to Israel.

Saudi Arabia, fearful of losing its influence to a stronger Iran, has threatened to send ground troops to Syria but has backed off in the prospect of the Syrian government's apparent success

So the situation is still complex and people are still dying. Bombing continues with accusations that US planes are bombing hospitals. The U.S. can end those accusations by ending its military operations and letting forces on the ground bring a resolution. What happens to the ISIL element is unknown, but it will certainly certainly be left weaker, without its main territorial base, and vulnerable to strong resistance in Iraq, which also needs US support.

Syria is one of President Obama's major foreign-policy mistakes, although he did resist Secretary Clinton's support for additional support for the rebels against Assad in 2013. Hillary can hardly be criticized on this subject by Republicans, all of whom support more military action in the Middle East and also oppose Iranian and Russian peace efforts. They seem to yearn for a new Cold War or further conflict with the most populous, potentially powerful nation in the Middle East, which is Iran. Among them, only Donald Trump, who strains credibility on so many subjects, seems to see the advantages of peace.

Millard Grimes, editor of the Columbus Enquirer from 1961-69 and founder of the Phenix Citizen. is author of "The Last Linotype: The Story of Georgia and Its Newspapers Since World War II."

This story was originally published February 22, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Millard Grimes: Syrian war seems to be ending ."