Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator
On August 13, US troops in Syria came under attack, according to local media sources, but no details on possible injuries. On August 9, eight US military troops were wounded in a drone attack at Rumaylan base in North East Syria. This was the second major attack in recent days against US forces who are occupying Syrian territory illegally. This incident is the latest in a long line of similar attacks by groups who seek to oust the 900 US troops from their occupation of Syria, and the 2,500 US troops from Iraq. All these attacks come amid soaring tensions in the Middle East because of Israel’s refusal to agree to a ceasefire in Gaza, which the UN has labeled genocide.
Some US personnel at Rumaylan had minor injuries including smoke inhalation, and examinations were being conducted for possible traumatic brain injuries, while some were transported for further evaluation.
Rumaylan holds the greatest concentration of oil and gas wells in Syria, which in the past provided the complete domestic supply for Syria, and created full electricity for the national grid by converting oil and gas to electricity via power stations. The average home in Syria today receives about 1 ½ hour of electricity in a 24 hour period due to the US occupation and confiscation of the oil resources produced in the north east.
ISIS had been well funded by selling stolen oil taken from oil fields across northern Iraq and Syria. Trump ordered the US troops in Syria to leave following the defeat of ISIS, but the ‘deep state’ refused Trump, and the US troops remained in Syria to confiscate the Syrian oil and deprive the Syrian people from their own energy resources.
On August 5, a rocket strike by a military unit within the Iraqi national army, the Popular Mobilization Forces, wounded five US personnel at Ain al-Asad airbase in western Iraq. The Popular Mobilization Forces were part of the Iraqi military coalition which defeated ISIS.
The Iraqi government requested the US military back to help them fight ISIS in 2014. After the defeat of ISIS, the Iraqi parliament and central government in Baghdad have both requested the US military to leave Iraq, but the US remains belligerently occupying several bases in Iraq.
The US has conducted several military attacks on Iraqi soil, including the US assassination of Iranian commander Qaseem Soleimani, and the assassination of a top military commander, Abu Baqir al-Saadi . Iraq sees the evacuation of the US troops from Iraqi soil as a matter of national security.
Turkish President Recip Tayyip Erdogan had been a close personal friend of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, to the extent of addressing him as ‘brother’ publically; however, that changed in 2011 after the Obama war on Syria began. Erdogan was a US ally, and fellow NATO member, with the largest army in NATO. Erdogan played his role in the script written in the Obama Oval Office. The drama ended in a tragedy for Syria and in a farce for Turkey and the EU as they continue to pay the price of hosting millions of Syrian refugees driven from their homes in search of peace and income.
Erdogan felt betrayed by the US. He had played their game in Syria, paid the price of hosting international Radical Islamic terrorists, and 3 million Syrian refugees. Erdogan had also hosted the Syrian opposition in Istanbul, the Syrian National Coalition (SNC). Now, the US were playing with fire on the border with Turkey, while supporting the SDF, who are directly linked with the PKK, who have killed over 30,000 people in Turkey over 3 decades of terrorism. Repeatedly, Erdogan asked Washington to stop supporting a Kurdish communist semi-autonomous government in north east Syria, but the State Department’s design to remain in Syria forever was more important than their relationship with Turkey.
Erdogan wants to repair his relationship with Assad. He seeks reconciliation with Damascus, and Syria has responded positively, but has demanded that Turkey remove all Turkish military from Syrian soil along the northern border first.
Experts have rumored a deal between Turkey and Syria is in the works. The deal on the table is rather simple: Turkey must get the US troops to withdraw completely from Syria, and in return the Syrian Arab Army will disarm the SDF and assure the security of the Turkish border.
Removing foreign troops from occupation can be done peacefully through diplomatic negotiations in which each side benefits. Or, it can be achieved through violent attacks on the occupation forces in order to make them decide to leave on their own.
Turkey’s largest export market prior to 2011 was Syria. Since then, Turkey has plunged into an economic crisis. Turkish citizens have come to resent the 3 million Syrian refugees living among them and seek their repatriation. Erdogan views the Turkish-Syrian border as a national security priority.
Without the US military presence in Syria, the Kurds will be forced to realign with Damascus, and in the process millions of Syrians can return to their homes and the oil and gas wells can once again be an energy source for all the Syrian people, instead of the sole benefit of a minority community of Kurdish communists.
Steven Sahiounie is a two-time award-winning journalist
