On Thursday, Protection Secretary Lloyd Austin attributed the attack, which additionally wounded greater than three dozen troopers, to the “Axis of Resistance,” a time period used to explain a free conglomeration of Iranian-sponsored militias preventing the USA, Israel and the West at massive. After the Oct. 7 terrorist assault on Israel, this group was rebranded because the “Islamic Resistance of Iraq,” with the specific function of focusing on People stationed within the area.
Austin didn’t discuss Tower 22, the place about 350 U.S. personnel are stationed, nearly all in noncombat roles. These troops work with Jordanian forces, and Tower 22 helps a U.S. garrison with about 200 troopers referred to as al-Tanf simply over the close by border with Syria. Each U.S. outposts shield a Syrian refugee camp referred to as Rukban, the place roughly 8,000 Syrian civilians have been dwelling for years, in any other case lower off from any help. There have been greater than 160 assaults on U.S. forces within the area since Oct. 7; greater than 30 of these focused Tower 22 or al-Tanf. Sunday’s was the primary lethal one.
So why not simply carry all of them residence? Within the brief time period, that might give Iran precisely what it needs: to drive U.S. forces out of the area and dominate an enormous swath of territory from Tehran to Beirut. And over the long term, the USA can be abandoning the mission of Tower 22 and the opposite U.S. bases there: preventing the Islamic State and defending civilians.
The Syrian rebel groups who work with U.S. troops to hunt Islamic State terrorists on this space wouldn’t be capable of function with out U.S. help. On Wednesday, I spoke with Col. Farid Al-Qassem, the commander of one of many United States’ accomplice forces in Syria. He instructed me that if U.S. troops left, it will be a catastrophe.
“The small footprint of those bases is essential. The principle mission is reducing off the availability routes for weapons and fighters for ISIS between Iraq, Syria and Lebanon,” he stated. “That is one of the simplest ways to forestall the resurgence of ISIS on this space.”
Tower 22 and al-Tanf are a part of a community of small bases that additionally complicate Iran’s capability to ship weapons and provides to teams equivalent to Hezbollah and Hamas. One other profit is that the Syrian civilians dwelling close to the bases are protected against the militias and from the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
“It’s vital to carry visibility to the vital humanitarian and safety work that’s taking place on this space,” Al-Qassem instructed me. “It is a very strategic space, however no person is listening to it.”
The Syrian Emergency Activity Drive is an American nongovernmental group that works with the U.S. navy and the Syrian rebels to switch humanitarian help to Syrian civilians. It relies on Tower 22 as a transit and logistics hub to switch meals, medication and different fundamental provides to Syrian refugees within the Rukban camp, who would possibly in any other case starve.
“Tower 22, al-Tanf and different U.S. bases in Syria are being focused due to their effectiveness in stopping Iran from attaining its expansionist goals and since they help besieged populations like Rukban,” Mouaz Moustafa, the group’s govt director, instructed me.
Austin stated the Biden crew is planning a response focused at those that attacked the U.S. troops. He stated there aren’t any plans to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria or Jordan right now. In the meantime, lawmakers and commentators are criticizing the administration for not protecting U.S. forces working in an more and more tense and unstable Center East. To make certain, extra must be carried out to make sure deployed troops are secure and to discourage the militias and their Iranian backers.
Protecting small quantities of U.S. troops in strategically vital outposts within the Center East shouldn’t be the identical as fighting a “perpetually warfare.” It’s an insurance coverage coverage in opposition to a lot worse outcomes. People are prepared to pay the value of this insurance coverage coverage, so long as it doesn’t embrace the deaths of U.S. troops.
America tends of making an attempt to desert its safety tasks within the Center East, solely to later reverse itself and overcompensate when the state of affairs deteriorates. The final time the U.S. navy lower and ran from the Center East, Islamic State fighters crammed the safety vacuum and the USA (and dozens of different international locations) needed to ship 1000’s of troops again to dislodge them. That limitless cycle is a recipe for an actual perpetually warfare.
The U.S. troopers who died at Tower 22 have been on a noble and mandatory project — defending regional and U.S. safety — after they have been attacked. Now, it’s the accountability of the remainder of us to make sure their sacrifice shouldn’t be squandered and their very important mission shouldn’t be deserted.
