NBC: Trump administration has new plan to drive Iran out of Syria
U.S. defense officials worry the increased focus on Iran and the presence of both militaries in Syria could pull the U.S. military closer to open conflict.
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is developing a new strategy for the war in Syria that would focus more heavily on pushing Iran's military and its proxy forces out of the country, according to five people familiar with the plan.
The new strategy would not involve the U.S. military directly targeting and killing Iranian soldiers or Iran's proxies, however, since that would violate the current U.S. authorization for using force in Syria. The U.S. military does have the right of self-defense under the authorization, and could strike the Iranian military if it felt threatened.
The plan would emphasize political and diplomatic efforts to force Iran out of Syria by squeezing it financially. It would withhold reconstruction aid from areas where Iranian and Russian forces are present, according to three people familiar with the plan. The U.S. would also impose sanctions on Russian and Iranian companies working on reconstruction in Syria.
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WNU Editor: It is going to take more than just sanctioning a few Russian and Iranian companies to force Iran out of Syria.
3 comments:
I wasn't aware we were assisting building up Syria with reconstruction aid. Better the Kurds receive this than Assad and Putin.
Assad has made his bed so he can sleep in it, lumps and all.
You are still thinking in the old way, Trump is playing by his way and I would not be surprised if it works.
The Russian Defense Ministry released a video Wednesday which said that the country has sent up to 63,012 servicemen to help battle rebels and jihadis trying to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose request for military assistance from Moscow was answered in September 2015.
That number included 434 generals and 25,738 officers who "received combat experience." The video also said that Russian forces had conducted about 39,000 airstrikes in Syria and had killed up to 86,000 "militants" and 830 leaders. They also eliminated some 121,466 "terrorist targets."
The number of actual Russians in Syria may be higher as certain private military companies such as the Wagner Group were known to be active, fighting alongside pro-Syrian government forces. The video also said that up to 4,500 of the "militants" killed were from Russia and the post-Soviet Commonwealth of Independent States.
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