American voters know something is amiss. Whether it is the candidates or the media, what we have been hearing from the campaign trail is desperately lacking in substance, particularly regarding foreign policy. With just two months left until Election Day, it's time for that to change.
The next president needs to know about Aleppo, and about Syria, and about a lot more.
Aleppo used to be Syria's largest city. Its population, like that of much of the country, has been decimated. The remaining residents have been caught in a brutal confrontation between rebels on one side, and government forces, supported in the country by Russia and the Iran-allied Hezbollah militia. The civilian population has endured a strangling siege, which left them short of food, electricity or running water. Early last month, a rebel group that rebranded itself after being part of al Qaeda, broke the siege, but the fighting has continued and the government has taken back positions from the rebels.