The US sees only one way to deter a war- to bomb the other party and then increase airstrikes against them. That is not the way toward peace but clear-cut escalation toward war. A Syrian militia group hit a US base in Jordan last week killing 3 US soldiers. Many political pundits were conjecturing that this was an accident from the Syrian-based militia, and the Syrian militia released a response saying they would not attack again after their deadly drone attack. Still, the US felt the need to respond, and as I worried and said they would respond just in this kind on a previous post, the US pummeled both Syria and Iraq as retribution for the deaths of the US soldiers.
16 Iraqis were killed.
21 Syrians were killed.
In both attacks on Iraq and Syria, the US killed innocent civilians.
85 locations were bombed in total between Syria and Iraq, 85.
That is clear escalation. Plus, the US is not done with their revenge yet. The White House has stated that they plan on continuing these escalated airstrikes against militia groups in Iraq and Syria in retaliation. Democrats are quite proud of these deadly attacks on Syria and Iraq that killed civilians, they’re congratulating the president for this response. Republicans want an even greater retaliation even though Biden has bombed more target than Trump did in his presidency, which the Democrats are using this twisted fact as some kind of win for the Democrats. Killing innocent civilians is not a win and it is this demented logic that will haunt the US government until they are held accountable for all the deaths they have been responsible for.
The Iraqi government is openly reprimanding the US for these attacks on Iraqi soil. The US said they had informed Iraqi officials but the Iraqi government says these are all lies in order to pain the US as being upfront with their assaults, which they clearly were not. It seems like the relationship between the Iraqi government and the US government is deteriorating rapidly. Killing innocent Iraqis for a bombing that happened in Syria is illogical, punitive, and ultimately breaks international law. Apparently the US does not care as no country holds the US accountable. Recently the Iraqi government has began pressuring the US military that they do not want their presence in Iraq, and this deadly attack on Iraqi civilians will surely increase the pressure to force the US military out of Iraq (and possibly businesses as well).
If the Iraqi government held the US accountable for these attacks, they could respond with sanctions and bring this to the UN Security Council. Someone needs to hold the US accountable for their disregard for international law and for killing innocent civilians.
What these attacks demonstrate is the little care for humanity the US possesses. It is their way and their way is always the right way. Unfortunately this warped way of thinking and acting has repercussions on the entire world. The US has been the aggressor and is often the aggressor, just as their entire actions have played out in the Middle East over the last few months. They have purposely bullied militia groups into retaliation and when they have retaliated, the US uses this as justification for increased bombardments, playing the victim when they are truly the aggressor.
Will these increased airstrikes deter the militias in Syria and Iraq? No. What will? The US military leaving will completely deter the militia. This is not US land and this is not US territory, so the US being in these countries is a means to destabilize and thwart the sovereignty of the host country. The US wants its presence there simply as a way to demonstrate their power and that they do in fact have power over that country, which they do because these countries are tied economically to the US.
As much as the US says it does not want a wider war, they do and now they are getting exactly what they have wanted because at some point, the US will kill enough innocent people that a response will be needed. 37 lives have been lost for the loss of 3 soldiers (who signed up for service and were willing to give up their lives while some of the 37 who died were innocent civilians).
At some point, Middle Eastern leaders have to weigh their relationship with the US and western powers over the stability of their country because the citizens of these countries are not fodder for the US war machine. The fact that these leaders continue their relationships with the US is going to come home and they will have to answer to their people. So far the US has done a thorough job in bribing countries with arms, military equipment, and base deals (Turkey, Qatar, UAE, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia).
What can we do since elected officials do not want to listen to our calls for peace?
Protest
Vote them all out.
Vote 3rd party.
Boycott
BE UNGOVERNABLE
Please extend your energy to all people and countries facing genocide and atrocities- Palestine, Sudan, Congo, West Papua, the Rohingyas, Armenians, and the Uyghurs.
Articles for reference:
CNN: What we know about the US strikes in Iraq and Syria
Reuters: US launches strikes in Iraq, Syria, nearly 40 reported killed