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Increased intervention in Syria: How many targets is the US eyeing?
Global Village Space |
M. K. Bhadrakumar |
The shooting down of a Syrian SU-22 warplane by a US F/A-18E Super Hornet to the south of the city of Raqqa, the capital of the ISIS, on Sunday is a significant escalation of the conflict in Syria. The US statement is deliberately vague, claiming that the Syrian jet had dropped bombs “near SDF fighters”. The US central command (CENTCOM) statement said the Syrian plane was downed “in collective self-defense of coalition-partnered forces”. It said “pro-Syrian regime forces” attacked an SDF held town south of Tabqa and wounded a number of fighters, driving them from the town. In a show of force, coalition aircraft stopped the initial advance. When a Syrian army SU-22 jet then dropped bombs near the US-backed forces, the statement said, it was immediately shot by a US F/A-18E Super Hornet.
The Syrian statement maintains that the jet was on an anti-terrorist mission against Islamic State militants.
According to the CENTCOM statement, before it downed the plane, it “contacted its Russian counterparts by telephone via an established “de-confliction line” to de-escalate the situation and stop the firing”. The statement added that the US does “not seek to fight the Syrian regime, Russian or pro-regime forces” but will not “hesitate to defend itself or its “partnered forces from any threat.”
Read more: Escalation of the Syrian conflict: Is the US hurting Syria more than ever?
The Syrian statement, on the other hand, maintains that the jet was on an anti-terrorist mission against Islamic State militants. The Syrian military command has alleged that the incident underscores the “coordination between the US and the ISIS.”
A few days ago, Russia had also alleged that the US was facilitating a retreat by the ISIS fighters in Raqqa in a southerly direction toward the city of Dier Ezzur, where a Syrian army brigade is holding out against rebel groups for the past few years. The Russian jets had bombed some ISIS convoys moving out of Raqqa.
It remains to be seen whether the US move to shoot down the Syrian warplane is a deliberate step toward drawing a “red line” as regards the bombing operations by the government jets or is a retaliation for the Russian air strikes on the ISIS convoys.
On June 6, Pentagon announced another strike on pro-Syrian government forces as they entered the de-confliction zone with Russian forces.
At any rate, the US has been steadily escalating its attacks on Syrian government forces through the recent months. Thus:
US efforts to dismantle Iran
Iranian authorities have long suspected a distant CIA hand in the Israeli-sponsored assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists between 2009 and 2012.
The US has not reacted to the Iranian missile attack on a target in Syria, which is the first such incident of its kind in the 6-year old conflict. More importantly, we do not know whether Iran is also drawing a “red line” to assert that the ISIS will no longer be able to hide behind the US and/or Israeli intelligence.
A commentary by the Middle East Eye on Friday had noted:
Read full article:
Increased intervention in Syria: How many targets is the US eyeing?
Global Village Space |
M. K. Bhadrakumar |
The shooting down of a Syrian SU-22 warplane by a US F/A-18E Super Hornet to the south of the city of Raqqa, the capital of the ISIS, on Sunday is a significant escalation of the conflict in Syria. The US statement is deliberately vague, claiming that the Syrian jet had dropped bombs “near SDF fighters”. The US central command (CENTCOM) statement said the Syrian plane was downed “in collective self-defense of coalition-partnered forces”. It said “pro-Syrian regime forces” attacked an SDF held town south of Tabqa and wounded a number of fighters, driving them from the town. In a show of force, coalition aircraft stopped the initial advance. When a Syrian army SU-22 jet then dropped bombs near the US-backed forces, the statement said, it was immediately shot by a US F/A-18E Super Hornet.
The Syrian statement maintains that the jet was on an anti-terrorist mission against Islamic State militants.
According to the CENTCOM statement, before it downed the plane, it “contacted its Russian counterparts by telephone via an established “de-confliction line” to de-escalate the situation and stop the firing”. The statement added that the US does “not seek to fight the Syrian regime, Russian or pro-regime forces” but will not “hesitate to defend itself or its “partnered forces from any threat.”
Read more: Escalation of the Syrian conflict: Is the US hurting Syria more than ever?
The Syrian statement, on the other hand, maintains that the jet was on an anti-terrorist mission against Islamic State militants. The Syrian military command has alleged that the incident underscores the “coordination between the US and the ISIS.”
A few days ago, Russia had also alleged that the US was facilitating a retreat by the ISIS fighters in Raqqa in a southerly direction toward the city of Dier Ezzur, where a Syrian army brigade is holding out against rebel groups for the past few years. The Russian jets had bombed some ISIS convoys moving out of Raqqa.
It remains to be seen whether the US move to shoot down the Syrian warplane is a deliberate step toward drawing a “red line” as regards the bombing operations by the government jets or is a retaliation for the Russian air strikes on the ISIS convoys.
On June 6, Pentagon announced another strike on pro-Syrian government forces as they entered the de-confliction zone with Russian forces.
At any rate, the US has been steadily escalating its attacks on Syrian government forces through the recent months. Thus:
- On September 16 last year, US aircraft carried out four strikes against the Syrian Army near the Deir Ezzur airport, killing nearly 100 people.
- On April 7, US warships fired 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles from two warships in the Mediterranean Sea at the Shayrat airfield in Homs province, following a chemical weapons incident in Idlib province for which Washington held the Syrian government responsible.
- On May 18, the US struck pro-government forces near Al-Tanf in the area of an established de-confliction zone close to the Iraqi border.
- On June 6, Pentagon announced another strike on pro-Syrian government forces as they entered the de-confliction zone with Russian forces. At least two Syrian servicemen were killed and more than 15 injured.
- On June 8, the US again bombed pro-government forces near Al-Tanf following an alleged attack by a combat drone.
US efforts to dismantle Iran
Iranian authorities have long suspected a distant CIA hand in the Israeli-sponsored assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists between 2009 and 2012.
The US has not reacted to the Iranian missile attack on a target in Syria, which is the first such incident of its kind in the 6-year old conflict. More importantly, we do not know whether Iran is also drawing a “red line” to assert that the ISIS will no longer be able to hide behind the US and/or Israeli intelligence.
A commentary by the Middle East Eye on Friday had noted:
- Earlier this month it was revealed that the newly appointed head of Iran operations at the CIA, Michael D’Andrea (dubbed “Ayatollah Mike”) is expected to go on the offensive against the Islamic Republic.
Read full article:
Increased intervention in Syria: How many targets is the US eyeing?
