U.S. Marines with 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, attached to Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force, Crisis Response-Central Command, engage targets during a live-fire demonstration near At-Tanf Garrison, Syria, Sept, 7, 2018. SPMAGTF-CR-CC Marines supported Special Operations Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve.
The U.S. is considering a plan to keep some forces in the al-Tanaf base in southeastern Syria to counter “Iranian activities,” despite President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw all American troops from the war-torn country, the Foreign Policy magazine reported on January 25 citing officials.
“Al-Tanaf is a critical element in the effort to prevent Iran from establishing a ground line of communications from Iran through Iraq through Syria to southern Lebanon in support of Lebanese Hezbollah,” a former senior U.S. military commander told the Washington-based magazine.
More than 200 U.S. service members are deployed in al-Tanaf base, which is located near Syria’s border with Iraq and Jordan. Washington claim that its troops are training and advising the local Revolutionary Commando Army to counter the threat of ISIS, which contradict with their real intention that’s countering the supposed Iranian threat.
It remains unclear how the U.S. will justify its decision to keep troops in al-Tanaf after the defeat of ISIS, especially that Iran is a state actor. Even the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is not designated as a terrorist group by Washington. Officials told Foreign Policy that marinating a military presence there will pose a legal challenge to Trump’s administration.
Beside this legal challenge, the U.S. is also facing a humanitarian challenge as their presence in al-Tanaf is blocking much need aid for thousands of displaced civilians in the nearby al-Rukban camp.
On top of all of these challenges, Washington’s main proxy in al-Tanaf, the Revolutionary Commando Army, is known to be incompetent and lacking any moral grounds. Recently, Syrian activists revealed that the group’s spokesman was caught raping a 10-year old girl from the al-Rukban camp.
The mainstream media is clearly trying to promote the need to keep the U.S. military presence in al-Tanaf.
A few miserable inexperienced troops expect to control Iran? Come on
Not to”control Iran” of course, just road between Iraq and Iran. And those are all special ops troops and I doubt very much that majority of them is “inexperienced ” There are not so many of them there…. But they present obstacle because they have direct air support of US-NATO+coalition forces and also their Jihad stooges on the ground…
The troops are there to provide assistance to ISIS, or whatever ISIS version 2 will be called. al Tanaf allows the US to ship arms to its terrorists from Iraq by road.
NOT SURPRISE ,… IT WAS THEIR PLAN FROM THE BEGINNING
desperation in tel aviv and some weird wackos in the white house and what you have is chaos and no plan and an american population that is screwed all the way from birth to graveyard by its own elected politicians – seems they will need quite a few lampposts in the future.
It is vital to kick out the all FUKUS out of the region and bring all regional countries to join the forces against all aggressors and looters.
Highly unlikely as the Arabs are tribal divided mob with totally treacherous sold out puppet regimes in Americunt and Zionist pockets. Do you really think the little midget “king” of Jordan will throw out his CIA masters who have been feeding his family for over 70 years now. The MI-6 even managed the liaison between his call girl mother Toni Gardner aka “Princess Mona”. The Americunts, Zionists and NATO have total control of Jordan from where they operate and train the headchoppers, Jordan is so pathetic that the Zionists just opened their largest dual use civilian military airport on Jordanian soil at Eilat.This airport will be the command center in case of next war with Hezbollah as all the northern Occupied Palestine airbases will be shut down by Hezbollah missiles and rockets.
Do you believe this that one time Turkey and Pakistan was strong allies of FUKUS. Now Turkey and Pakistan are allied with Russia, China and if the Indian politicians become sons of men then Pakistan will also join India. Then the influence of demons (FUKUS) on Asian and African countries will finished and then they will get benefits of their own natural and industrial resources.
Oh America, your desperation can be clearly seen now; pathetic and embarrassing.
Apparent USA troops evacuating troops has become USA troops replacement.Putins western partners.
Yes, the retarded Asperger midget Putin is very grateful to his western masters, aka “partners and colleagues” for carving up Syria and giving him the honor of perpetually kissing Turkeys arse.
ohhhhhh my gooooooooddddddddddddddd
i´m sooooooooooooooooooo shocked!!!
You would be get off the drugs then you would be off the keys.
you should stop babbling stupidity…
former commanders may express whatever opinion they have, but their discretion on what happens remains at zero.
More like a move to please the desperate Zionists, doesn’t have much practical purpose. The Tehran-Beirut highway is already open and operational, it is not dependent on the Al Tanf crossing.
So much for a complete withdrawal, but it wasn’t totally unexpected. They were offered the easy way out by Assad/Putin but since they’ve rejected that, then the hard way it shall be instead.
“..and so it shall be.”
Al-Tanaf is a critical element in the effort to prevent Iran from establishing a ground line of communications from Iran through Iraq through Syria to southern Lebanon in support of Lebanese Hezbollah,” a former senior U.S. military commander told the Washington-based magazine.”
Complete bullshit and more Zionist Bolton rhetoric. What it should say is that US will remain on or near Syrian Conoco oil and potential gas wealth and for Israhelli security 200 hundred troops is not a large presence and when Syria liberates Idlib the last of terrorism will be defeated
Told you.
This is what the Neo-Con media hacks at Foreign Policy journal want to happen – not what will necessarily actually happen – these media hacks are just trying to create political pressure and influence opinion on the issue. Neo-Cons are sore losers writ large.
Why is everyone missing the obvious here? Just look at where this Al Tanf base is located, and you can see why the US is staying… From the Al Tanf position, the US could potentially launch their long planned assault on Syria itself! Al Tanf is perfectly placed to allow offensive operations right across Syria!
There was always no way in hell the US was ever going to leave their Al Tanf forward offensive operations base… It is too strategic and is basically a dagger right into the heart of Syria itself.
The Shale Industry Collapse Will Start in the Spring, and Take the Rest of the US Down With It
https://russia-insider.com/en/shale-industry-collapse-will-start-spring-and-take-rest-us-down-it/ri26049