Originally Posted by
PierzStyx
Excellent point. I would love to see Iran be allowed to open up. That wa sthe best point of Obama's Presidency. But Trump clearly isn't going to do anything serious about the issue. Just look at whole he has in charge of everything.
Trump’s Iran Obsession and the Forever War in Syria
The U.S. special representative for Syria confirmed [1] that the administration’s policy is one of forever war in Syria [2]:
James Jeffrey, the State Department’s special representative for Syria, said the United States would maintain a presence in the country, possibly including an extended military mission, until Iran withdraws the soldiers and militia forces it commands. U.S. officials expect that possible outcome only after world powers broker a deal ending the war.
It is tempting to refer to this as mission creep, but this is really a case of beginning a completely new, different, and unrelated mission as an excuse to keep U.S. forces in Syria indefinitely. Keeping U.S. troops in Syria until Iran “retreats” gives Iran an easy way to dictate our policy for us. They have no reason to withdraw, and our illegal presence in Syria puts no pressure on them to leave. On the contrary, a continued, illegal U.S. presence in Syria is not going to make Iran more inclined to withdraw its forces. It gives them added incentive to do what they were already going to do. Because withdrawal is something that this administration is demanding of Iran, it is the last thing that Iran’s government is going to want to do.
Besides the sheer illegality of the mission that the administration is proposing, the most striking thing is that it has absolutely no connection to U.S. or allied security. Iran’s military presence in Syria may not be desirable, but their evacuation from Syria isn’t necessary for the security of the United States or any treaty allies. Iran and Syria have been allies for decades, and Iran’s support for the Syrian government has only strengthened that relationship. Unless and until the Syrian government no longer wants them there, Iran has no reason to leave, and both governments have no reason to pay attention to Washington’s preferences.
The administration’s bankrupt Iran policy and its illegal war in Syria have joined together to create a truly dangerous and reckless commitment that could bog the U.S. down in part of Syria for a long time to come. Keeping U.S. forces in Syria until Iran withdraws all its troops and proxies would be a multi-decade undertaking:
According to one Western diplomat, Iran has spent tens of billions of dollars in Syria and lost thousands of fighters in support of the Assad regime. If the United States keeps a military presence in Syria for as long as the Iranians, that would mean “decades at the very least,” said the diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss American policy.
The U.S. is very bad at ending its open-ended military missions around the world. If Trump is allowed to get away with maintaining an illegal military presence in Syria, it is quite possible that the mission could last long after he leaves office. The time for stopping it and bringing U.S. forces out of Syria is now, because in another few years the blatantly illegal policy will have become accepted as just one more in a string of illegal presidential wars.
It can’t be emphasized strongly enough that U.S. forces have no authorization to be in Syria for any reason, and every day that Trump keeps them there he is violating the Constitution.
The Iran Obsession and the Despicable War on Yemen
Mohamad Bazzi comments [1] on the role of the Trump administration’s Iran obsession in continuing its support for the Saudi coalition war on Yemen:
Blinded by its obsession with Iran, the Trump administration is perpetuating an unwinnable war and undermining the likelihood of a political settlement.
As I have been saying for well over a year, the administration’s Iran obsession poisons everything. Treating Iran as the source and cause of all the region’s woes isn’t just shoddy analysis, but it also becomes a rationalization for lots of terrible policy decisions that have serious costs for the U.S. and for the other countries involved. We are seeing that happen with the administration’s Syria policy, and we have been seeing it in Yemen for the last twenty months. Trying to blame Iran for the conflict in Yemen is wrong as a matter of fact, but that naturally hasn’t stopped the administration from casting blame on a government that has very little to do with the war there while whitewashing the abuses and crimes of the governments that the administration arms and supports.
Iran’s role in Yemen has been minimal all along, but Trump administration officials have made a point of exaggerating it and focusing on it to the exclusion of almost everything else. The fixation on Iran is unfortunate for several reasons. It promotes serious misunderstanding about the causes of the war and who is responsible for Yemen’s current plight. It distracts attention from the governments that are regularly committing war crimes against the civilian population. Finally, and most damning of all, it treats Yemeni civilians as expendable pawns in a quarrel with Iran that has nothing to do with them or their country. Helping to destroy and starve Yemen in a vain effort to combat Iranian “expansionism” is one of the most perverse and despicable policies of our time, and it is all the more so because there is no such expansionism to oppose. Even if there were, it wouldn’t justify what our government is helping the Saudi coalition do to Yemen, but the fact that there isn’t makes the policy that much worse.
Since the Trump administration isn’t going to do anything to rein in the Saudis and Emiratis, Bazzi concludes that Congress will have to do it:
The only realistic check left is in Congress, where more voices are asking why the world’s most powerful country is helping to perpetuate the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
That’s right, and that is why the House needs to pass H.Con.Res. 138 as soon as possible.
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