Last Thursday, on February the 25th, US president Joe Biden gave orders for air strikes in Southeastern Syria. These were targeted at facilities that Pentagon believed included a “number of Iranian-backed militant groups including Kataib Hezbollah and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada” on the Syrian-Iraqi border control point. According to The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the strikes resulted in massive human casualties, with at least 22 pro-Irani fighters killed among others; asides from this, a number of armoured trucks were also destroyed as a result of these strikes.
Satellite view of the Syrain-Iraqi border after the airstrike.
(Source: Maxar Technologies via AP)
This came in retaliation for the February 15th rocket attack on the US-led forces in Erbil, Iraq. The US-Iraq coalition reported the death of one US-Philippine contractor and 5 others injured, including a National Guard soldier. Iran took no responsibility for the attack. Instead, a day later, Saraya Awliya al-Dam (Arabic for Guardians of Blood Brigade)- which is a small Shiite military group that analysts started categorizing as a front organization for official Iran-backed groups, despite a lack of any evidence- claimed involvement
However, the many back and forth attacks in the last year were enough for the new government to respond in what Pentagon described as a “defensive” and “proportionate” attack. In a media briefing, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin who recommended the air strike claimed they were confident in the target they hit.
February 26, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin gives a press briefing.
(Source: Bloomberg)
This attack came as a surprise to the world after Biden’s early assurance to advance ties with Iran by lifting the economy-crippling sanctions placed by Trump and rejoining the Iran nuclear deal. Apart from that, the new Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken reaffirmed last year the Democrats intention to withdraw from the Middle East, stating: “I think we would be doing less, not more in the Middle East”. His claims before coming into office insinuated less funds spent on foreign military operations, and more on an improved American life: including the cancellation of student loans, health care, fairer tax policies, as well as bridging racial wealth gaps and employment opportunities. These promises have been put to the question after this recent adventure. A recent study from the Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs at Brown University shook the U.S taxpayers, claiming that wars in the Middle East had cost $6.4 trillion since they began in 2001, and the hope of this changing in “the new dawn” is consistently thinning.
While the news break angered the new government’s proponents- several taking to social media to express these emotions- others labelled it a “diplomatic”, “not too heavy-handed” and “fair” warning. Among the ones unsympathetic to the attack were NewYork Times author Kashana Cauley who tweeted:
(Source: Twitter)
Another slam to the action came from Trump Jr.,
“Who would have thought that within 33 days we’d be bombing the Middle East again? I would have,” said Trump Jr. on Friday. “The military industrial complex? I’m surprised it took them 33 days.”
Others cited President Biden’s June 2019 tweet that read, “No president should order a military strike without fully understanding the consequences. We don’t need another war in the Middle East…”, pointing out the hypocrisy.
(Source: Twitter)
In another surprise, it came to light through the claims of Sen. Tim Kaine that the Congress had not been involved in the approval of the strikes, nor has it yet been fully briefed on the action. This gave rise to a lot of anger among Democrats who declared the government reasons “unsatisfactory.”
While some Senators called the action, “Biden’s right to respond” and “President Biden’s resolve to prevent Iran from targeting America’s personnel and allies with impunity”, it still begs the question of what the future U.S foreign policy will be concerning the Middle East. Do all promises of a new era for America and its war dilapidated regions still stand? Will America end its support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen? Will the President stick to his policy of active engagement with Palestine in an effort for a two-state peaceful solution? Or is Thursday night just the start of another 4 year reign of “erratic” bombing and brutality? Unfortunately, the government’s actions have thrown in a lot of doubts to the mix of early days uncertainty and isn’t doing much to clear them.
