Current Affairs

In Syria, the United States aims to break ISIS and protect its allies


With the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, the United States is striving to maintain its influence in the vortex of global forces at work in Syria. The US military hopes to protect its vulnerable Kurdish allies while hitting ISIS hard enough so that it never regroups.

The rapid overthrow of the Syrian regime caught US military officials by surprise. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the Defense Department is now closely monitoring whether pockets of ISIS fighters — who controlled 34,000 square miles and 2 million people at their peak a decade ago — will attempt to “take advantage of this opportunity and regain capacity.” Monday.

Why did we write this?

The fall of Bashar al-Assad opens new strategic opportunities for the United States: to crush ISIS and maintain a steady hand in the vortex of global forces at work in the region.

The United States has 900 soldiers in Syria. Analysts say that these forces face a particular danger now after the collapse of the country’s government. As if to highlight — and dispel — these fears, US Central Command announced that it had carried out “dozens” of airstrikes using B-52 bombers, F-15 fighter jets and A-10 attack aircraft against ISIS operatives and training camps on Monday. .

Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said the main focus of the United States is to ensure that chemical weapons produced by the Assad regime “do not fall into the hands of anyone who wants to use them against civilians, or against our partners in the region.”

The rapid overthrow of the Syrian regime – which included the flight of leader Bashar al-Assad to Moscow – came as a surprise to US military officials.

“I think everyone expected to see much tougher resistance from Assad’s forces,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Monday, as the regime agreed to hand over power to the Syrian Sunni Islamist rebel group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham. .

Now the Department of Defense is closely watching whether pockets of Islamic State (ISIS) fighters — who controlled 34,000 square miles and 2 million people at the height of their alleged caliphate a decade ago — will attempt to “take advantage of this opportunity and regain the ability,” Secretary Austin said. “.

Why did we write this?

The fall of Bashar al-Assad opens new strategic opportunities for the United States: to crush ISIS and maintain a steady hand in the vortex of global forces at work in the region.

The United States is also seizing opportunities amid a strategic free-for-all policy. As it strives to maintain a strong presence in the maelstrom of global forces at work in Syria, the U.S. military hopes to protect vulnerable allies and strike ISIS hard enough so that it never regroups.

For this reason, the United States has nearly 900 soldiers in Syria. But transitional times are fraught with danger, and analysts say these forces face particular danger now that the country’s government has collapsed.

As if to highlight these fears — and dispel them — US Central Command, which runs the Pentagon’s operations in Syria, announced that it had carried out “dozens” of airstrikes against ISIS members and training camps on Monday.

A Syrian man makes a victory sign as he passes a burning military vehicle that was hit by an Israeli strike, in Damascus, Syria, December 9, 2024.

Today, Israel’s Defense Minister, Israel Katz, said that Assad’s navy had been destroyed to prevent it falling “into the hands of extremists.” This is one of hundreds of strikes carried out by Israeli warplanes since the rebels seized power.

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