The Cradle / September 7, 2024
The US is expanding its presence in Iraq and Syria amid fears of a regional war with Iran and the Axis of Resistance
The US military has transferred large amounts of weapons and military equipment, including defense systems, to its illegal bases in Syria over the past month in an attempt to prevent the recurrence of resistance attacks against its bases and soldiers, Al-Akhbar reported on 7 September.
Local sources speaking with the Lebanese newspaper revealed that “in the last month, the Americans brought 22 batches of weapons and equipment to the bases in Hasaka and Deir Ezzor, including 19 batches that arrived by air to the Kharab al-Jir, Al-Shaddadi, Conoco, and Al-Omar bases, and three batches that arrived by land via the illegal Al-Walid crossing with Iraq.”
The sources added that “most of the weapons transported are surveillance and monitoring systems, in addition to equipment designated to confront close air targets such as drones and medium and short-range missiles.”
The sources pointed out that “the American bases used laser systems for the first time in missions to monitor, observe, and target drones and missiles.
In addition, the US has carried out additional military exercises. The sources stated that “the [US] coalition carried out more than 15 live training exercises on the use of these weapons and selecting their readiness, most of which were at the Omar field bases and the Conoco gas plant.”
The sources believed that “these unprecedented movements in Syria, at least in terms of density, reveal American intentions to strengthen Washington’s military presence in Syria,” adding that “there is a great focus on the need to curb the resistance factions in Syria and Iraq, and neutralize their weapons.”
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI) coalition, made up of Iraqi resistance factions who banded together in October last year, began attacking US bases in Iraq and Syria following the start of the war in Gaza.
US efforts to reinforce its forces illegally occupying Syria follow attacks carried out by five Iraqi resistance factions against US bases in Syria during the month of August.
On 10 August, a drone attack on the Kharab al-Jir base in northeastern Syria injured several US and coalition personnel.
In late August, resistance factions targeted a US patrol consisting of six vehicles with direct gunfire on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River in the Deir Ezzor countryside. The Syrian army controls territory in the same area on the western bank of the river.
Despite the attacks, US Assistant Deputy Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs and the official in charge of the Syrian file at the US State Department, Ethan Goldrich, said on 5 September that “US forces will not withdraw from Syria.”
When asked whether there was a timetable for the withdrawal of these forces, he said: “Currently, our focus is on the goal, which is to prevent ISIS from reappearing.”
US forces in Syria rely on support from US forces in neighboring Iraq for support and resupply.
The US has used the presence of ISIS in eastern Syria and western Iraq as a pretext to maintain troops in both countries despite having covertly supported the terror group in its blitzkrieg conquest of territory in 2014.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani has stated multiple times this year that ISIS is no longer a threat to Iraq and has been leading negotiations with Washington for the withdrawal of the US troop presence in Iraq.
However, Washington has been reinforcing its presence in Iraq, including in oil-rich Kirkuk, and recently suspended negotiations with Baghdad over the US troop withdrawal, amid the ongoing possibility of a regional war between the US and Israel on the one hand, and Iran and the Axis of Resistance, on the other.
