US Praises Israeli Attacks in Syria, But Fears Backlash Will Hit US Troops

Pentagon insists Israel's operations in Syria are totally independent of US

When Israel attacks Syria, and claims they’re doing so because they want to attack Iran, US officials can’t wait to endorse those. A number of officials, particularly in the Pentagon, are worrying that the US troops in Syria might be made a target by all of this.

Israel was striking sites across Syria several times a week for quite some time, though they’ve been quiet since Russia delivered S-300 defensive systems to Syria. These advanced systems are believed to be a major obstacle to Israeli attacks.

But to hear Israel tell it, the S-300 won’t have any impact on their attacks, and the fact that they haven’t attacked since is coincidental. The Pentagon is concerned that when the attacks restart, however, they’ll be making the US a target.

The Pentagon seems not to have a solution, instead insisting that Israel has an “inherent right to self-defense” in attacking Syria, but that those attacks are totally independent of the US’ own operations in Syria.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.