SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
Syrian President Bashar al Assad claims to have won the war and that he is merely mopping up remaining rebel groups. (Photo: (c) 2017 Reese Erlich)
With its escalation of the undeclared war in Syria, the Trump Administration risks a direct military confrontation with Russia.
On June 20, the United States shot down an Iranian drone flying near allied rebels in southeastern Syria. On June 17, a U.S. fighter jet downed a Syrian Air Force bomber, asserting that the Syrians threatened the ground positions of Syrian Kurdish allies.
Russian officials immediately warned that Russian radar would target U.S. war planes flying in western Syria. Russia said it would shut down the Russian-U.S. hotline aimed at avoiding accidental military conflict over the skies of Syria.
The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement that warned U.S. planes would be in danger "if they take action that poses a threat to Russian aircraft." The United States has now attacked the Syrian military and its allies seven times, including one "accidental" attack near Deir ez-Zor last September that killed sixty-two Syrian soldiers.
The air war escalation is "extremely dangerous," Juan Cole, a professor of history at the University of Michigan and an expert on the Middle East, told The Progressive. "Any time you have two great-power air forces operating in the same area with different war aims, the danger of conflict is extreme. The Trump Administration seems to be sleepwalking into a global confrontation."
Competing military forces are scrambling to take over territory abandoned by the Islamic State as it is driven out of Raqqa and other cities. The government of Bashar al Assad now controls much of western Syria and is moving to reclaim some former Islamic State areas in the east. Syrian Kurds control a strip in the north. Various other rebels dominate in northwestern and southern parts of the country.
The latest U.S. military attacks--along with those of Russia, Turkey and Iran--bring Syria closer to de facto partition, Cole said.
"The United States is trying to establish a sphere of influence in Syria. The Russians are asserting [their own] sphere of influence," he said.
The air war began in 2014 when the Obama Administration bombed Syria, claiming it was only targeting the Islamic State. The U.S. government justified the attack because of the murder of thousands of Yazidis and other minorities fleeing an Islamic State assault in Iraq. The administration argued that a 2001 act of Congress authorizing the fight against Al Qaeda in Afghanistan somehow applied to fighting the Islamic State in Syria, although the Islamic State didn't exist in 2001.
The U.S. later allied with the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and the mainly Arab Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), seeking to use the fighting capabilities of these militias to defeat the Islamic State and establish U.S.-controlled territory.
While that alliance has helped defeat the Islamic State militarily, the United States never figured out who would rule Raqqa and other majority-Arab areas once the Islamic State fled.
Nevertheless, within weeks of taking power, the Trump Administration doubled the number of U.S. troops fighting in Syria to about 1,000. It shipped artillery and other sophisticated arms to northern Syria, and operated small bases in southeast Syria.
In 2014 the Islamic State attacked Yazidis and other minorities living in Iraq. The Obama Administration used the attack as an excuse to bomb Syria.
From 2014 to the present, U.S. air attacks have killed almost 4,000 civilians in Syria and Iraq, according to Airwars, a non-profit group that tabulates open source information.
The Pentagon has not revealed the overall cost of the Syrian War. But the Tomahawk missile strike against a Syrian air field, by itself, cost an estimated $60 million.
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. Join with us today! |
With its escalation of the undeclared war in Syria, the Trump Administration risks a direct military confrontation with Russia.
On June 20, the United States shot down an Iranian drone flying near allied rebels in southeastern Syria. On June 17, a U.S. fighter jet downed a Syrian Air Force bomber, asserting that the Syrians threatened the ground positions of Syrian Kurdish allies.
Russian officials immediately warned that Russian radar would target U.S. war planes flying in western Syria. Russia said it would shut down the Russian-U.S. hotline aimed at avoiding accidental military conflict over the skies of Syria.
The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement that warned U.S. planes would be in danger "if they take action that poses a threat to Russian aircraft." The United States has now attacked the Syrian military and its allies seven times, including one "accidental" attack near Deir ez-Zor last September that killed sixty-two Syrian soldiers.
The air war escalation is "extremely dangerous," Juan Cole, a professor of history at the University of Michigan and an expert on the Middle East, told The Progressive. "Any time you have two great-power air forces operating in the same area with different war aims, the danger of conflict is extreme. The Trump Administration seems to be sleepwalking into a global confrontation."
Competing military forces are scrambling to take over territory abandoned by the Islamic State as it is driven out of Raqqa and other cities. The government of Bashar al Assad now controls much of western Syria and is moving to reclaim some former Islamic State areas in the east. Syrian Kurds control a strip in the north. Various other rebels dominate in northwestern and southern parts of the country.
The latest U.S. military attacks--along with those of Russia, Turkey and Iran--bring Syria closer to de facto partition, Cole said.
"The United States is trying to establish a sphere of influence in Syria. The Russians are asserting [their own] sphere of influence," he said.
The air war began in 2014 when the Obama Administration bombed Syria, claiming it was only targeting the Islamic State. The U.S. government justified the attack because of the murder of thousands of Yazidis and other minorities fleeing an Islamic State assault in Iraq. The administration argued that a 2001 act of Congress authorizing the fight against Al Qaeda in Afghanistan somehow applied to fighting the Islamic State in Syria, although the Islamic State didn't exist in 2001.
The U.S. later allied with the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and the mainly Arab Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), seeking to use the fighting capabilities of these militias to defeat the Islamic State and establish U.S.-controlled territory.
While that alliance has helped defeat the Islamic State militarily, the United States never figured out who would rule Raqqa and other majority-Arab areas once the Islamic State fled.
Nevertheless, within weeks of taking power, the Trump Administration doubled the number of U.S. troops fighting in Syria to about 1,000. It shipped artillery and other sophisticated arms to northern Syria, and operated small bases in southeast Syria.
In 2014 the Islamic State attacked Yazidis and other minorities living in Iraq. The Obama Administration used the attack as an excuse to bomb Syria.
From 2014 to the present, U.S. air attacks have killed almost 4,000 civilians in Syria and Iraq, according to Airwars, a non-profit group that tabulates open source information.
The Pentagon has not revealed the overall cost of the Syrian War. But the Tomahawk missile strike against a Syrian air field, by itself, cost an estimated $60 million.
With its escalation of the undeclared war in Syria, the Trump Administration risks a direct military confrontation with Russia.
On June 20, the United States shot down an Iranian drone flying near allied rebels in southeastern Syria. On June 17, a U.S. fighter jet downed a Syrian Air Force bomber, asserting that the Syrians threatened the ground positions of Syrian Kurdish allies.
Russian officials immediately warned that Russian radar would target U.S. war planes flying in western Syria. Russia said it would shut down the Russian-U.S. hotline aimed at avoiding accidental military conflict over the skies of Syria.
The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement that warned U.S. planes would be in danger "if they take action that poses a threat to Russian aircraft." The United States has now attacked the Syrian military and its allies seven times, including one "accidental" attack near Deir ez-Zor last September that killed sixty-two Syrian soldiers.
The air war escalation is "extremely dangerous," Juan Cole, a professor of history at the University of Michigan and an expert on the Middle East, told The Progressive. "Any time you have two great-power air forces operating in the same area with different war aims, the danger of conflict is extreme. The Trump Administration seems to be sleepwalking into a global confrontation."
Competing military forces are scrambling to take over territory abandoned by the Islamic State as it is driven out of Raqqa and other cities. The government of Bashar al Assad now controls much of western Syria and is moving to reclaim some former Islamic State areas in the east. Syrian Kurds control a strip in the north. Various other rebels dominate in northwestern and southern parts of the country.
The latest U.S. military attacks--along with those of Russia, Turkey and Iran--bring Syria closer to de facto partition, Cole said.
"The United States is trying to establish a sphere of influence in Syria. The Russians are asserting [their own] sphere of influence," he said.
The air war began in 2014 when the Obama Administration bombed Syria, claiming it was only targeting the Islamic State. The U.S. government justified the attack because of the murder of thousands of Yazidis and other minorities fleeing an Islamic State assault in Iraq. The administration argued that a 2001 act of Congress authorizing the fight against Al Qaeda in Afghanistan somehow applied to fighting the Islamic State in Syria, although the Islamic State didn't exist in 2001.
The U.S. later allied with the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and the mainly Arab Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), seeking to use the fighting capabilities of these militias to defeat the Islamic State and establish U.S.-controlled territory.
While that alliance has helped defeat the Islamic State militarily, the United States never figured out who would rule Raqqa and other majority-Arab areas once the Islamic State fled.
Nevertheless, within weeks of taking power, the Trump Administration doubled the number of U.S. troops fighting in Syria to about 1,000. It shipped artillery and other sophisticated arms to northern Syria, and operated small bases in southeast Syria.
In 2014 the Islamic State attacked Yazidis and other minorities living in Iraq. The Obama Administration used the attack as an excuse to bomb Syria.
From 2014 to the present, U.S. air attacks have killed almost 4,000 civilians in Syria and Iraq, according to Airwars, a non-profit group that tabulates open source information.
The Pentagon has not revealed the overall cost of the Syrian War. But the Tomahawk missile strike against a Syrian air field, by itself, cost an estimated $60 million.