https://apnews.com/article/syria-iraq-sdf-islamic-resistance-us-c621972db21d6b3db7ca1bccd50ce6ef
On Sunday, February 4th there was a drone attack on a Syrian base housing U.S troops that killed six Kurdish fighters. The al-Omar base is located in Syria’s eastern province of Deir el-Zour and there were no U.S casualties. However, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed at least seven Syrian Democratic Force fighters were killed in the attack, with many more wounded. The Islamic Resistance, an umbrella group of Iran-backed militias claimed responsibility for the attack and called for the withdrawal of U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Syria. The drone attack was believed to be a response to the U.S. retaliatory strikes against Iran-backed militias like the Islamic Resistance who have been using drone attacks to kill U.S. troops at the U.S military bases in Jordan. The U.S. has also launched attacks in western Iraq and eastern Syria to combat the militant groups and at Houthi rebels in Yemen to protect U.S. Navy Ships from the imminent threat of anti-ship missiles.
The drone attack from the Iran-backed Islamic Resistance is important because it shows the effect that the Israel-Palestine war has had on the Middle East and specifically how Iran-backed militant groups and the Houthi rebels have strived to take advantage of the conflict. I think it’s likely that the drone attacks will continue at the U.S. bases in Syria and Iraq as the U.S. continues to launch counterattacks and that there may be further casualties of U.S., Syrian, and Kurdish troops. Iran feels cornered by the heavy presence of American troops in the Middle East and is using its power and influence to back militias in hopes of chasing them away. However, I think that the effects of the reciprocated attacks between the U.S. and these militant groups will only heighten the U.S. presence in the Middle East and that other U.S. allies will get involved, such as Britain.
The attacks on the Syrian base, al-Omar connects to class by illustrating an example of a global conflict and how countries in the Middle East are divided by ideology and are all looking to claim power. The Iran-backed militias are also using geopolitics to determine that the U.S. bases and presence of troops in the Middle East are a threat because of their central locations which serve to keep an eye on Iran and exert the U.S.’s influence on the area. The U.S. is also utilizing its current hegemonic geopolitical approach to use its military to check potential threats instead of using other methods, like restraint or offshore balancing which would mean scaling back or using allies to control areas.