On February 3, U.S. special forces conducted a raid in Syria, killing ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi. No U.S. troops were injured, but 13 civilians were killed, including children. U.S. official said Qurayshi detonated a bomb before U.S. troops entered, killing himself and his family on detonation. There are roughly 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria. The troops stationed there are wanted there to fight low-level threats from groups like ISIS which have proved to be relentless in small scale attacks during this period of civil war in Syria. The group ISIS first was formed during the U.S. intervention of Iraq in 2003, and when President Obama pulled troops from Iraq in 2011, ISIS reemerged in Syria during the start of Syria’s civil war. The death of al-Qurayshi is a major blow to the forces of ISIS, and proves that U.S. involvement is still prominent.
The killing of the leader of ISIS is major in Syria. Syria has been in civil war for nearly a decade, and ISIS is a major factor in the conflict. As for the U.S., the killing of al-Qurayshi is a major success in their involvement in Syria. The U.S. is seen as important in Iraq and Syria, being there to tame the violence caused by ISIS. Biden pulled out of Afghanistan in disastrous fashion, but kept troops in Syria to keep terrorist groups like ISIS at bay. By the troops being in Syria, they are helping to keep the region continually stable and keep ISIS, which is more than a threat in Syria, at a low end threat. The involvement of the U.S. is necessary to stabilize Syria and deter terrorist attacks by ISIS in the region.
This article relates to the topic of national interest. The U.S. has had oil interest in the Middle East for decades now, and after 9/11, the U.S. made it priority to defeat terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda and ISIS. It is still in their interest to protect Syria and other countries and Europe and even in the U.S. from ISIS and terrorist cells from Syria and the Middle East. The U.S. has also been involved because they were sent to lessen the violence caused by their civil war, and it is in Syria’s interest to be protected by the U.S. from terrorist threats at their government and citizens.