The United States can’t defeat ISIS without first reckoning with Iran’s nefarious role in Syria
Rarely has the Middle East been more baffling. The United States sells fighter jets to Qatar, a country the American president accuses of sponsoring terrorism. In Syria, the U.S. is relying on Kurdish fighters that Turkey, a NATO country closely aligned with Qatar, says are terrorists, supporting their mission to take Raqqa, the Islamic State’s capital, with airstrikes launched from a giant U.S. base outside of Doha. The U.S. accuses Russia of complicity in the Syrian government’s chemical attacks on its own people, and hits Syrian forces, but hopes to collaborate with Moscow to fight ISIS.
Got all that? Amid this confusion, Iran is pressing ahead to strengthen its grip on Syria, even as Trump goes after ISIS. Iran’s intervention to save President Bashar al-Assad’s regime has involved sending not just elite Iranian military advisers but also bringing in Lebanese Hezbollah and other Shia militias from as far away as Afghanistan. While estimates vary on the size of these forces, the numbers are in the tens of thousands. Iran’s sectarian shock troops are being used to extend the regime’s writ, especially as the Syrian regime’s deployable military manpower has shrunk to about 20,000 forces.
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WNU Editor: I would rewrite the above Politico title to say "Iran is on a collision course with the U.S.". But having said that it is true that Iran is determined to establish their corridor from Iran to the Mediterranean .... and having U.S. forces in the middle of this push is not going to stop them.
4 comments:
WNU,
I still smell a deal. But as you say the Iranians don't want to play. Any deal to have a chance of working would mean Russia moving into Southwest Syria on the ground and being extremely proactive in enforcement of any deal the US would sigh on to and I don't know if Putin really wants to be involved that deeply. It represents a big big difference from just regime assurance and naval facilities/access and related air security.
As it stands now he has the above with only ISIS and anti regime forces as enemies, if he moves southwest he adds Israel and the Sunni Gulf coalition to that list.
Iran is vulnerable in its Syria adventure.
jb,
That's what I think also. They're stretched out pretty good. Ole Solemeini's got alot on the line.
Let's not forget that some Russians are hanging out there too
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