Joe Biden extends national emergency powers in dealing with Syria: All you need to know about the executive order

United States president Joe Biden on Thursday renewed the American government’s declaration of national emergency powers in dealing with Syria.

In a statement, Biden said: “The situation in and in relation to Syria, and in particular the actions by the Government of Turkey to conduct a military offensive into northeast Syria, undermines the campaign to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.”

His statement further read, “The ongoing crisis continues to endanger civilians and further threatens to undermine the peace, security and stability in the region while still posing an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.”

He added, “For this reason, the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13894 of 14 October, 2019, must continue in effect beyond 14 October 2021. Therefore … I am continuing for one year the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13894 with respect to the situation in and in relation to Syria.”

What is an executive order?

An executive order is a signed, written directive from the president that manages operations of the federal government.

According to data collected by the American Presidency Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara, presidents going back to George Washington have issued thousands of directives to manage federal government business. While some executive orders are something as simple as giving federal employees a day off after Christmas, some others are used to push a policy that the leader can’t pass through Congress.

America has seen several executive orders been passed – both by Republican and Democratic presidents. For instance, Bill Clinton had 364 orders over two terms, George W Bush signed 291 over his eight years in office and Barack Obama issued 276. Trump in his one term signed 220 orders.

In his first 100 days in office, Biden signed more than 60 executive actions , 24 of which are direct reversals of Trump’s policies.

Trump’s Executive Order 13894

On 14 October 2019, by Executive Order 13894, then President Donald Trump declared a national emergency pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States constituted by the situation in and in relation to Syria.

The order empowered the US administration from blocking property of people who were found responsible or found complicit in the unrest in Syria. It also allowed the US government to impose sanctions — such as blocking any contracts they had and even denying visas to people they believed played a role in causing civil unrest in Syria.

It also denied US financial institutions to make loans or provide credits to the sanctioned person in any 12-month period.

It also denied entry to such people into the United States.

Citing his reason for extending the national emergency as stated by Executive Order 13894, Biden recently said that the recent actions by Bashar al-Assad’s administration and Turkish troops have undermined the Pentagon’s campaign to defeat the Islamic State and have also jeopardised ‘peace, security and stability’ in the region.

Additionally, Turkish troops and the Syrian National Army have carried out multiple operations in Northeastern Syria including the 2019 offensives which lead to the establishment of the Idlib governorate.

What’s going on in Syria

Since 2011, Syria has witnessed unrest in the country as the Syria Arab Republic, led by Bashar al-Assad, has been opposing various domestic and foreign forces who protest Assad’s authoritarian regime.

The unrest coupled with the coronavirus pandemic has plunged the Syrian economy to its deepest recesses with roughly 80 percent of its population living under the poverty line.

The Islamic State too had a stronghold over the nation. But, coalition forces have driven them out, leaving destruction in its wake.

With inputs from agencies