WASHINGTON (Dispatches) – U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that Washington is urging Syria to focus on internal challenges and secure its border with Lebanon—a formulation that, according to diplomatic observers, masks a more pointed American objective: enlisting the Syrian interim takfiri regime as a proxy to fight Israel’s war against Hezbollah on Lebanese soil.
Speaking to reporters, Rubio stated that “what we’ve encouraged Syria to do is to focus on its own internal challenges that it has,” while adding that “we understand the threat that Hezbollah is an enemy of this new government in Syria.” 
He said securing the Lebanon border would prevent weapons crossing “in an effort to destabilize Syria.”
The comments come as Washington moves to remove Syria from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list—a designation in place since 1979—in what critics describe as a transactional reward for Damascus’s cooperation. 
Secretary Rubio notified Congress of the decision, which will take effect after a 45-day review period, citing “formal assurances” that Syria will not support international terrorism.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of Syrian forces taking on Hezbollah, telling reporters he believed it would be “very effective”.
At the G7 summit in France, Trump said he suggested to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu “to let Syria take care of Hezbollah, because to be honest with you, I think they do a better job of doing it”.
Syria’s de fact president Abu Muhammad al-Jolani, a former Al-Qaeda and Daesh deputy, has publicly rejected military intervention, stating that “the rumors circulating about Syria entering Lebanon are completely unfounded”. 
Yet Israeli media, citing Syrian security sources, has reported a “gap between what is said publicly and what is happening behind the scenes,” with plans targeting Hezbollah reportedly being formulated.
 What Rubio’s remarks conspicuously omit is the daily Israeli military aggression against Syrian territory. Israeli airstrikes continue to pound Syrian targets with impunity. 
On July 16 alone, Israeli warplanes dropped massive ordnance on Syria’s coastal Tartus region in the most intense bombardment since 2012, targeting the 23rd Air Defense Brigade and advanced weapons warehouses. The explosions were so powerful they registered on seismic equipment 820 kilometers away in Turkey.
Analysts warn that Washington’s gambit risks catastrophic sectarian conflict. Kheder Khaddour of the Carnegie Endowment wrote that any U.S. effort to persuade Jolani to confront Hezbollah militarily “would have catastrophic consequences,” transforming a geopolitical conflict into a sectarian clash within Lebanon and potentially galvanizing Lebanese to rally around Hezbollah.