Opinion | Biden has abdicated U.S. leadership on Syria to Russia and Iran
Washington PostJul 20, 2022
According to a statement from US Central Command, rockets were fired at two US bases in Syria on Wed. evening, injuring three service members. It's not yet clear whether either base sustained damage. In response, US helicopters attacked vehicles used to launch some of the rockets, killing two or three suspected fighters behind the attack.
While it hasn't been confirmed which militant group is responsible for the attack, it comes the same day that the US military announced it conducted airstrikes in eastern Syria targeting facilities it said were being used by groups affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a paramilitary group considered a terrorist organization by Washington.
The recent events make one thing clear above all: It's time for the US to return to a credible and serious policy for Syria and the entire Middle East. Assad, with his partner Russia, is still committing terrible human rights crimes against millions of Syrians, and as long as Washington allows the Syrian regime, Tehran, and Moscow to dominate the country, Syrians will continue to suffer.
It's bizarre for the US to pretend to defend itself in Syria when its presence in the country is actually illegal - unlike that of Russia and Iran. By occupying parts of Syria, the US is not concerned with the fight against the so-called Islamic State, but primarily with control over Syria's oil and gas. Only if the US and its partners leave Syria will the country be able to find lasting peace again.