Pentagon officials have been indicating for quite some time that they have no intention of leaving Syria, but Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, on Wednesday, finally set out the new US policy goals aimed at justifying what he described as an “open-ended” deployment.
Instead of a “counter-terror” operation focused on ISIS, the US presence is now also intended to generally fight against Iranian influence, to facilitate refugee returns to Syria and, most scandalously, to “ensure the departure of the Assad regime.”
The US has long insisted on regime change in Syria, but never before suggested that their military deployment in the country was anything to do with that, let alone that the US might try to impose regime change militarily.
With the legal justification for the US deployment in Syria already shaky, at best, with no authorization from the Syrian government, re-positioning the war away from ISIS and toward a war with the Syrian government and its allies makes an open-ended deployment even less tenable.
While US invasions trying to impose regime change are nothing unfamiliar in this day and age, this would be a particularly bizarre variant of that, with the US getting the troops into the country first then announcing the goal long after the fact.
The USA is carrying out regime change ion another nation!!! Where is the UN?? Where are the world’s sanctions?
Any Trump tweets saying this is fake news? Please.
…but lets pay some folks to smash garbage cans and set tires alight in Tehran and convene an emergency session of the UN Security council to discus it.
They are staying because pulling out would drive AIPAC insane. Basically Syria must not be allowed to ever challenge ownership of the Golan Heights again and the best way to do this is destabilization. The CIA with support from Secretary of State Clinton obliged initially with an insurgency and there is no end to it for Tillerson, he will do as told.
with that area of Syria and its US troops surrounded by unfriendly regimes in Turkey, Syria, and Iraq, I don’t see how this policy is at all sustainable…..or even why these other nations would allow to US to fly their troops and supplies in and out. just look at any map of the area – landlocked and a quagmire, just like Afghan-i-Nam.
on top of all that, US troops there will be sitting ducks – expect many special ops by Iran, Syria, Turkey and perhaps Hezbollah to start soon
idiots, interventionists and sociopaths run american foreign policy
US military presence on non-white land was always ok to
Trump and most of his supporters.
Messing in Syria (and other “non-white lands” (?)) started with Obama. I didn’t hear any of his fans complaining.
Trump supporters pretended they were against it.
Trump supporters are still against it.
Of course none of his “fans” were complaining but the ones who voted for him and were let down certainly complained. I’m waiting for the same to happen with the Trump supporters.
My bet is on the Syrian government to win this one. Their east and west flanks are secure, they have a battle hardened army and many militias as allies or under their command. Globally many other nations want to resume trade and assist in reconstruction.
US forces in the middle of Syria and Iraq are sitting ducks, with no particular goal or realistic agenda. They are vulnerable being targeted by so many factions and terrorists – when the heat turns up, as it must, they’ll have to pull out. Turkey will follow and Syria will soon be whole again.
“when the heat turns up, as it must, they’ll have to pull out.”
You don’t believe that Trump/Netanyahu will escalate?!?!?!
Deep down, they’re both very risk averse. They don’t want to fight any opponent who can shoot back.
The people on this forum do understand that America has a huge airbase in Turkey with Nukes pointed at Russia right? Y’all do understand America still has a large military presence in Iraq right and Israel is a very capable ally as well. Y’all do understand that America can launch laser guided missiles from it naval destroyers like it did in Syria not to long ago. Y’all do know America would end Assad’s existence if anything y’all are dreaming yes dreaming ever occurred but, it won’t because Syria knows what Russia knows it’s hard to defeat America and have anything left to show for it. The assets are in place as for the sitting duck theory believe me when I say there’s not an inch of Syria that’s not vulnerable to an American missile.
Proving again that we are the primary military threat in the Middle East.
There are no nukes at Incirlik in Turkey. That agreement to defuse the Cuban Missile Crisis has held all these years
Yes because NATO doesn’t have a huge presence in Turkey… Erdogan knows he has a strong ally in NATO but, doesn’t trust America,as a sovereign nation he must do what’s best for his nations interests. He’s always had relatively warm relations with Putin a good thing at the time for NATO.
Israel is for Israel, period, and we do not have any formal treaty obligations with Israel. If we did, Israel would have ponied up military forces for the bombing, invasion and occupation of Iraq.
You keep saying things that are reasons why we are such a wretched country but you say them as though they are a source of pride.
Russia and Turkey stand against this aggression against the Assad rule. Get America out of Syria-period.
We need regime change here. Shake off the rule of the Israel Firsters.
So diplomat Rex is doing his best for peace, just like in Korea.
How much are we spending for this?
How much are we spending for North Korea?