US Conducts Air Strikes in Syria After Contractor Killed

    Photo: EPA [via The Guardian]

    The Facts

    • In response to an alleged Iranian drone attack that killed a US contractor in northeast Syria Thursday, US Sec. of Defense Lloyd Austin said the Biden admin. ordered airstrikes against facilities in Syria's eastern Deir ez-Zor governorate used by groups affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

    • The Dept. of Defense said that Thursday's attack occurred in al-Hasakah, a region controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) when a "one-way unmanned aerial vehicle struck a maintenance facility on a Coalition base."


    The Spin

    Pro-establishment narrative

    The US will not tolerate Iranian attacks against US forces in Iraq or Syria. Any attack by Iranian-backed forces will result in strong reprisals, as the US must defend its positions against Iranian aggression. Iran has deployed its terrorist militias throughout Syria and Iraq, and US forces must counter these threats whenever necessary.

    Establishment-critical narrative

    The US has relentlessly attacked Syria as it continues its illegal occupation of the country. Iran is a friend of Syria and has been invited by the government to help protect Damascus from Western-backed terrorists. Though the US says it's in Syria to "fight the Islamic State [group]," in reality, its only goal is to steal oil and block any resistance to Western neo-colonialism.


    Establishment split

    CRITICAL

    PRO

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