The US base in al-Tanf in southern Syria
Nov 20,
2023. Posted by Balkan Periscope - Hellas
US has to carry out more strikes against Iranian-backed militias and proxy forces in Syria and Iraq to prevent any escalation in the region following sets of tit-for-tat attacks on US bases, former US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said.
In an interview with the Washington Examiner, Esper said that strikes the US conducted against Iranian-backed militias and proxy forces in Syria and Iraq in response to mounting strikes on US troops has not been “forceful enough and frequent enough.”
The escalation by the Iranian-backed militias against US troops in Syria and Iraq has mounted since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict on Oct.7.
On Nov. 16,
the Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary, Sabrina Singh, said that the
Iranian-backed militias have launched 58 attacks against troops in Syria and
Iraq since the conflict began.
Esper added
that the US strikes’ objective is to prevent the region from being dragged into
more escalation following the Oct.7 conflict, stressing that this will only be
achieved by striking warehouses.
“I think
the way you prevent escalation is by responding more forcefully…to expand to a
broader array of targets,” said Esper.
He also
urged the US military to hit Iran for supporting proxy forces and other
militias, such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
Speaking of
the role of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), he noted, “They
are the ones supplying and supporting these proxy forces.”
The US
Department of the Treasury designated on Nov. 16 six individuals of the Kata’ib
Hizballah, an Iranian-backed militia based in Iraq, for directing a “spate” of
attacks on the US and its partners in Syria and Iraq
The former
Secretary of Defense stressed that the US has to give “a more forceful
response, both in frequency and volume.”
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