Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Sunday amid a spate of attacks on US troops in the region over US support for Israel’s onslaught on Gaza.
US forces in Iraq and Syria have come under attack 32 times, including a drone launched at a base in Syria that was reported on Sunday. The US launched airstrikes in eastern Syria on October 27 to “deter” future attacks, but the strategy has clearly failed.
“I made very clear that attacks or threats coming from militias that are aligned with Iran are totally unacceptable, and we will take every necessary step to protect our people,” Blinken said in Iraq, according to AFP.
Blinken met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and thanked him for condemning the attacks on US troops. Blinken said al-Sudani is “working with his own security forces and others to take necessary action … to seek to prevent them.”
Many of the Shia militias and political factions in Iraq are strongly opposed to the US presence in the country and have been pushing for it to end since the US killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in a January 2020 drone strike in Baghdad. Soleimani was killed alongside Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who led the Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella group of Iraqi militias that was formed in 2014 to fight ISIS.
In the wake of the killing of Soleimani and al-Muhandis, Iraq’s parliament voted to expel US troops, and Iraqi prime ministers have been under pressure to do so ever since. In an effort to placate anti-US factions, the US formally changed its presence in Iraq from a combat role to an advisory role in December 2021. But the US did not withdraw any troops at the time and still has 2,500 in the country today.
A group that calls itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq has taken credit for many of the attacks on US bases in Iraq and Syria. The US has not been attributing them to a specific group and is saying Iran is ultimately responsible due to its support for the Shia militias, but there’s been no evidence showing Tehran is directing the attacks.
Some free advice to our leaders: you all need to rethink your strategies and start dealing with the realities on the ground… We are not wanted in the region by ANYONE but Israel… This is bound to piss other countries off. We are faced with potential escalation and this puts the entire. planet in a dangerous place. Think very, very carefully about your next moves in the region, for not just our sake (USA) but for the region and indeed the WORLD.
When “the region” produces terrorist and genocidal organizations whom the countries government’s would subsequently attempt to shelter and/or promote, it becomes in America’s and Israel’s right to self-defense to operate in the region, the specifics of those countries “opinions” being absolutely irrelevant. Israel and the United States will not allow a terrorist and genocidal organization to attempt to recoup after committing a 9/11 level terrorist and genocidal incursion into Israel, reserving every right for proportional justified self-defense against any who would attack them while seeking to achieve such a goal. The U.S. government has recently stated that “As long as America Exists, It Will Support Israel”, so as such the future for Israeli and U.S. cooperation against terrorism and attempts of genocide seems only bright.
The region doesn’t produce terrorist and genocidal organization but it sure does attract them.
When the Zionists get evicted we’ll have peace.
Yeah, because they’re definitely the organization with the charter explicitly calling for the genocide and death of a certain group of people, right? (https://disq.us/url?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.msn.com%2Fen-us%2Fnews%2Fworld%2Funderstanding-hamas-s-genocidal-ideology%2Far-AA1i0jaZ%3AcPp2dhnOy1Q8glT4lLsWw9c-1jw&cuid=18764). And no, falsely claiming that “Zionism” would be behind 9/11 like you somehow previously attempted would not “support” any of the “points” you have been attempting to make. As the world comes together to condemn Hamas’s unjustifiable terrorism and support Israel, we can only wish the brave souls of the Israeli Defense Forces godspeed in their mission.
As opposed to what exactly: just let Iran kill innocent U.S. servicemen providing security in the region, something unprovoked attacks such as these demonstrate precisely the need for, as they provide weapons, material, personnel and equipment to terrorist and genocidal proxies that sow death, destruction, terrorism and genocide to anyone they deem an “enemy”. There is a difference between being “antiwar” and not realizing this is a conflict where if the U.S. doesn’t make the right choice the world can become a much more dangerous place…
Nobody can claim innocence when they illegally occupy someone else’s land.
Bring them HOME! 🇺🇸
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f15f4f6642c8ed73f80e88b66e4ee90e674ead561d805e47cf12fe4426953beb.jpg
Bring them home. Nothing in the Middle East is any business of the US government or responsibility of the American taxpayer. Fortress America doesn’t care if the world is a more dangerous place. Our interests end at our border.
As someone who’s typically more non-interventionist, I’d typically agree with statements along those lines. However, the Iranian revolution was quite literally founded on chanting “Death to America” and “Death to Israel”, so given what Iran is currently supporting against Israel through directly providing weapons, personnel, equipment and training to its proxies carrying out 9/11 level terrorist attacks against the legitimate state, as well as quite literally “congratulating” Hamas in a public statement, the U.S. would be exceptionally unwise if they would begin withdrawing security resources from the region at this point. The United States has certainly made mistakes in the past, however, possibly not supporting Israel in its justified self-defense counter-terrorism and anti-genocide operations that take every reasonable measure to reduce civilian casualties in the aftermath of one of their darkest days, if ever actually done, would certainly qualify as a new one.
Perhaps more attacks on these US bases will deter the US from making any further attacks.
It’s funny Blinken’s visit to Iraq is met with massive protests. Nevermind that the current Iraq regime is one we created after Bush’s war based on lies. Our wars sure makes friends for us, don’t they?
Our position on Israel is one that will make enemies of us in the eyes of all Middle East nations and is a recipe for forever war in the region; it is a pure and unmitigated failure. But a failure that two war parties will continue to support and create more enemies for America….
US war resistors are growing strong enough to begin considering a new US government and where to put the new modern architecture capitol.
But was it unplanned?
Cry, lie, bomb, kill, and deter. Repeat as necessary. …That’s diplomacy? …Okay. No need to repeat yourself.
we will take every necessary step to protect our people,
There’s only one step that’s necessary to protect our people.. Step on the next plane out of Dodge before our people become our sacrificial lambs.
Blinken Visits Iraq and every other country and is snubbed during each visit.
What an embarrassment to America almost as bad as Joey Biden the senile drooling clown.
Don’t come back. Blinken is the kind of person who, when he comes into a room, you have the feeling someone just left.