With ISIS having recently made gains against Kurdish YPG-held border posts in eastern Syria, the Iraqi military has sent troops across the border into Syria, and has seized at least 30 of the border posts.
ISIS has seized the posts over the past week and a half, as part of a flurry of counter-offensives against the Kurds. Iraqi Army forces indicates that they took the border posts fairly quickly, and there is no reporting of major clashes.
Where this leaves the Iraqis is unclear, as they effectively are controlling border posts inside Syria, and there is no immediate practical way to return them to either the Syrian or Kurdish regional forces. This might mean they’re stuck in these remote parts of the Syrian desert for awhile.
Iraq’s al-Maida newspaper quoted officials as saying that the posts are all within 50 meters of the Iraq-Syria border, and that so far there are no orders for the military to seize any additional posts. Iraq has sent large numbers of forces to the Syrian border, fearing the ISIS fighting could spread across the border and allow ISIS to reclaim Iraqi towns.
So, ISIS today controls territory ONLY within US area of control. Anywhere else, most ISIS does are loner terrorist attacks. But in US area, they hold local people hostages in many villages and townships along Euphrates. Kurds are such a small force in that region — that it is a joke talking about the area being in Kurdish/US control. Yet, if Syrian Army attempts to liberate the area, it is met with US bimbs that are supposedly defending — Kurds! Niw who is feeding ISIS there? Allowing them to keep and expand territory? Iraq will seal the border and Turkey will in due course move into the area. US is posturing by patroling Turkish border with Kurds! The numbers of Kurds and US forces is no match to Turkey, with over 50,000 Syrians now under its command, not to mention hundreds of thousands of their own. Kurds are no match for Iraqi troups either. And no match for Damascus troups. Soooo, without US servicemen sitting there as a trip wire, what is left? And what is the strategic value or any other rational explanation for hanging out there using ISIS or Kurds as an excuse, and preventing millions of Syrians finally winning oeace? There is nothing rational here. This us making Iraq and Turkey mad, and that us no way to make/keep friends and influence people. Time to cut a deal with Turkey and Iraq, let them stabiluze region before elections. But I detect a certain logic in US posture. We are not moving until we have to. Mideast logic. But with every passing day our would be face savers will be more angry and in the end be far less amenable to positive optics for US.