US Defense Secretary James "Mad Dog" Mattis reinforced Tillerson's comments adding that the US plans an indefinite occupation of Iraq (and, possibly, Syria) stating that it was in America's "national interest."
"I believe it's in our national interest that we keep Iraqi security forces in a position to keep our mutual enemies on their back foot," he said, as quoted by the Military Times. The US "needs to remain decisively engaged in Iraq and in the region."
In response to Mattis's comments, Syrian President Bashar al Assad said:
"Any military operation in Syria without the approval of the Syrian government is illegal, and any troops on the Syrian soil, is an invasion, whether to liberate Raqqa or any other place. The (US-led) coalition has never been serious about fighting ISIS or the terrorists."
Clearly, Washington is using the fight against ISIS as a pretext for capturing and holding territory in a critical, energy-rich area of the world. The plan to seize parts of East Syria for military bases and pipeline corridors fits neatly within this same basic strategy. But it also throws a wrench in Moscow's plan to restore the country's borders and put an end to the six year-long conflict.
And what does Tillerson mean when he talks about "interim zones of stability" a moniker that the Trump administration carefully crafted to avoid the more portentous-sounding "safe zones." (Readers will recall that Hillary Clinton was the biggest proponent of safe zones in Syria, even though they would require a huge commitment of US troops as well as the costly imposition of a no-fly zone.)
Tillerson's comments suggest that the Trump administration is deepening its involvement in Syria despite the risks of a catastrophic clash with Moscow. Ever since General Michael Flynn was forced to step down from his position as National Security Adviser, (Flynn wanted to "normalize" relations with Russia), Trump has filled his foreign policy team with Russophobic hawks who see Moscow as "hostile revisionist power" that "annex(es) territory, intimidates our allies, develops nuclear weapons, and uses proxies under the cover of modernized conventional militaries." Those are the words of the man who replaced Flynn as NSA, Lt. General HR McMaster. While the media applauded the McMaster appointment as an "outstanding choice," his critics think it signals a departure from Trump's campaign promise:
"We will pursue a new foreign policy that finally learns from the mistakes of the past...We will stop looking to topple regimes and overthrow governments... Our goal is stability not chaos, because we want to rebuild our country [the United States] ...In our dealings with other countries, we will seek shared interests wherever possible and pursue a new era of peace, understanding, and good will."
There won't be any peace under Mattis or McMaster, that's for sure. Both men are anti-Moscow hardliners who think Russia is an emerging rival that must be confronted and defeated. Even more worrisome is the fact that uber-hawk John McCain recently stated that he talks with both men "almost daily" (even though he has avoided talking to Trump since he was elected in November.)
According to German Marshall Fund's Derek Chollet, a former Obama Pentagon official, "(McCain) is trying to run U.S. defense policy through Mattis and effectively ignore Trump." (Kimberly Dozier, Daily Beast contributing editor) Chollet's comments square with our belief that Trump has relinquished his control over foreign policy to placate his critics.
Washington's Syria policy is now in the hands of a small group of right-wing extremists who think Russia is the biggest threat the nation has faced since WW2. That's why there's been a sharp uptick in the number of troops deployed to the region. This is from The Nation:
"On March 9, The New York Times reported that the United States is sending 400 troops to Syria...A week later, March 15, The Washington Post reported that the Pentagon has drawn up plans to send a 1,000 more troops within the coming weeks." Meanwhile, in anticipation of the coming ... operation against the Islamic State, the administration has decided to send "an additional 2,500 ground combat troops to a staging base in Kuwait." ("Congress Needs to Stop Trump's Escalation of the War on Syria," Nation)
Here's more from Sputnik:
"Every two days the US deploys a large amount of weapons, primarily heavy armaments, to the region. They have sent tanks, armored vehicles, missiles, sniper rifles, mortar launchers and other types of weaponry...In addition, the United States has told us that a decision was made to send an additional 1,000 US troops to take part in the Raqqa operation," he said, specifying that US troops will serve as military advisers during the operation and will not take part in the combat." (Sputnik)
Washington is increasing its weapons stockpile to fend off any attempt by Russia and its allies to keep the battered nation together. A weaker, fragmented Syria governed by tribal leaders and local warlords will pose no threat to Washington or Tel Aviv's regional ambitions. At least, that appears to be the thinking among US foreign policy elites.
But while Washington continues to pour gas on the fire, Russia remains committed to preserving what Putin calls "the fair world order." In a recent speech he said:
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