Guest Post by Patrick J. Buchanan
Candidate Donald Trump may have promised to extricate us from Middle East wars, once ISIS and al-Qaida were routed, yet events and people seem to be conspiring to keep us endlessly enmeshed.
Friday night, a drone, apparently modeled on a U.S. drone that fell into Iran’s hands, intruded briefly into Israeli airspace over the Golan Heights, and was shot down by an Apache helicopter.
Israel seized upon this to send F-16s to strike the airfield whence the drone originated. Returning home, an F-16 was hit and crashed, unleashing the most devastating Israeli attack in decades on Syria. Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu says a dozen Syrian and Iranian bases and antiaircraft positions were struck.
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Monday’s headline on The Wall Street Journal op-ed page blared:
“The Iran-Israel War Flares Up: The fight is over a Qods Force presence on the Syria-Israeli border. How will the U.S. respond?”
Op-ed writers Tony Badran and Jonathan Schanzer, both from the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, closed thus:
“The Pentagon and State Department have already condemned Iran and thrown their support behind Israel. The question now is whether the Trump administration will go further. … Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (has) affirmed that the U.S. seeks not only to ensure its allies’ security but to deny Iran its ‘dreams of a northern arch’ from Tehran to Beirut. A good way to achieve both objectives would be back Israel’s response to Iran’s aggression — now and in the future.”
The FDD is an annex of the Israeli lobby and a charter member of the War Party.
Chagai Tzuriel, who heads the Israeli Ministry of Intelligence, echoed the FDD: “If you (Americans) are committed to countering Iran in the region, then you must do so in Syria — first.”
Our orders have been cut.
Iran has dismissed as “lies” and “ridiculous” the charge that it sent the drone into Israeli airspace.
If Tehran did, it would be an act of monumental stupidity. Not only did the drone bring devastating Israeli reprisals against Syria and embarrass Iran’s ally Russia, it brought attacks on Russian-provided and possibly Russian-manned air defenses.
Moreover, in recent months Iranian policy — suspending patrol boat harassment of U.S. warships — appears crafted to ease tensions and provide no new causes for Trump to abandon the nuclear deal Prime Minister Hassan Rouhani regards as his legacy.
Indeed, why would Iran, which, with Assad, Russia and Hezbollah, is among the victors in Syria’s six-year civil war, wish to reignite the bloodletting and bring Israeli and U.S. firepower in on the other side?
In Syria’s southeast, another incident a week ago may portend an indefinite U.S. stay in that broken and bleeding country.
To recapture oil fields lost in the war, forces backed by Assad crossed the Euphrates into territory taken from ISIS by the U.S. and our Kurd allies. The U.S. response was a barrage of air and artillery strikes that killed 100 soldiers.
What this signals is that, though ISIS has been all but evicted from Syria, the U.S. intends to retain that fourth of Syria as a bargaining chip in negotiations.
In the northwest, Turkey has sent its Syrian allies to attack Afrin and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened Manbij, 80 miles to the east, where U.S. troops commingle with the Kurd defenders and U.S. generals were visible last week.
Midweek, Erdogan exploded: “(The Americans) tell us, ‘Don’t come to Manbij.’ We will come to Manbij to hand over these territories to their rightful owners.”
The U.S. and Turkey, allies for six decades, with the largest armies in NATO, may soon be staring down each other’s gun barrels.
Has President Trump thought through where we are going with this deepening commitment in Syria, where we have only 2,000 troops and no allies but the Kurds, while on the other side is the Syrian army, Hezbollah, Russia and Iran, and Shiite militias from Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan?
Clearly, we have an obligation not to abandon the Kurds, who took most of the casualties in liberating eastern Syria from ISIS. And we have a strategic interest in not losing Turkey as an ally.
But this calls for active diplomacy, not military action.
And now that the rebels have been defeated and the civil war is almost over, what would be the cost and what would be the prospects of fighting a new and wider war? What would victory look like?
Bibi and the FDD want to see U.S. power deployed alongside that of Israel, against Iran, Assad and Hezbollah. But while Israel’s interests are clear, what would be the U.S. vital interest?
What outcome would justify another U.S. war in a region where all the previous wars in this century have left us bleeding, bankrupt, divided and disillusioned?
When he was running, Donald Trump seemed to understand this.
You said it, Pat. The marching orders from tel aviv have been cut. It’s time for the big slobbering american mutt to be sicced on people with whom we have no issue. And they’ll be no fig leaf appeal to muricans for the ‘kinetic action’. Last time they tried that shit the rabble shut down congressional switchboards voicing their disapproval. So fuck the rabble. This time they’ll pull a lincoln: “The war came….”
Vote, my ass.
This is insanity…Obvious false flag by Israel. It’s becoming clear that Israel wants Northern Syria and is willing to use its hapless puppet, America, to get it, even if it leads to a devastating war. Nuke Israel…
mohammedans should be encouraged to kill one another at every opportunity. However, Americans should not become involved in their sectarian and tribal warfare. Get out buy popcorn and watch the show.
Well, seems that the debate is over, IsraHell kicked butt.
Wait…….Veterans Today site says BS to that:
https://www.veteranstoday.com/2018/02/11/vt-was-right-israeli-airstrikes-were-complete-failure/
Israel has a good air force, though no match for Russia’s. But Israel’s army is a joke, so they need to drag a retarded Uncle Sam to do their dirty work. It’s not going to happen…
Part of me hopes that Putin actually DOES have video of Trump getting pissed on by Russian hookers. That’s about the only way the vassal United States won’t get sucked into another war for Israel.
Trump has certainly been a disappointment in the non-interventionist realm… Chip
Trump has been giving the generals what they want because the military is his bulwark against a coup….If Trump succeeds in draining the swamp, he will revert to his campaign position.
“Clearly, we have an obligation not to abandon the Kurds, ”
Fuck you, Mr. Buchanan! It’s exactly THAT kind of thinking which causes the USA!USA!USA! to get involved in all these damned wars in the first place. We don’t owe the Kurds shit!!
Also calling bullshit on us being “sucked” in. What planet does he live on?? We’ve been trying to get rid of Assad for a very long time. Sucked in my ass. We are willingly, eagerly, and voluntarily getting involved in Syria.
+1000 Stucky
Isunreal is gearing up for another invasion of Lebanon but this time they expect the US to do the hard stuff so that all they have to do is march in and plant their flag. This time, Yahweh willing, they won’t leave and will finally have the Litani River all to themselves.
The thing is, I don’t think the Russians will allow it. Is the US really stupid enough to get into a shooting war with the Russians over Zionist lebensraum?
Good analysis. Water is definitely one of the factors. The “creepy criminal Khasars” will steal it, just like they did the Palestinian’s land – withOUT giving reasonable compensation. And then there is the Rothschild/Sick Cheney/Murdock Genie Energy oil theft going on in the SYRIAN Golan Heights area now. And the “churchies” here in “Murkaa” wonder why there’s so much “jew-bashing”. DUH!
LOL – “Is US Being Sucked Into Syria’s War?”
REALLY !!! Come on, Pat – you’re losing “creds” with this kind of “dissembling”.
The United SNAKES Corp, D[e]C[eit] “al-CIA-da”, the Hildabeast, Dept of Offense, etal PRECIPITATED the damn mess! Anybody else recall General Wesley Clark’s 2007 disclosure?
Never sucked but always shoved by NeoCons into fighting Israel’s enemies. Turks are hell bent on killing Kurds and Syrians, and Russians and Americans and whoever else gets in their way. Russians will defend their allies Syria and Iran; and there are a hundred miscellaneous sub-plots. Turkey will continue to piss off their ancient blood feud enemy (Russia) until the Russians send them back to the Stone Age; the USA better not get sucked into that inevitable holocaust.
if we don’t want to have to fight russia over turkey,either turkey or the us has to leave nato–
otherwise we fight or be forever known as a cowardly nation that cannot be trusted–
as far as buchanan saying we’re being sucked into syria,he knows the deal but he has to live/work around these people in dc–
Trusted? USA has abandoned allies and others that believed the State Department BS consistently since WWII. Think about South Viet Nam, El Salvador, The Cuban invasion of 1962, Iranian Green Revolution,Hungary and Czechoslovakia. It is dangerous to trust USA.
Israel launched an attack on Syria, the Syrians shot down the returning aircraft over Israel . Basically the Syrians are warning the Israelis no more bombing or Israel will get hit . That what infuriates the Israelis . What pat wrote is bullshit, the Israelis blow up a shed but they need to put on a show that they will annihilate the enemy,won’t happen .if they lose the airspace to anti aircraft missils they are fucked. If Americans want to die for Wall Street and Israel go ahead. Anybody in the US millitary who fights is a traitor and should hang.