United Kingdom “letting down” allies over airstrikes in Syria

On October 30, senior Obama administration officials said that Washington would send a few 50 SOF troops to Syria to “train, advise and assist” militants fighting against the Daesh, in an apparent breach of Obama’s promise not to put USA “boots on the ground” there.

They will increase air operations in northern Syria, particularly in the Turkish border area to cut the flow of foreign fighters, money and materiel coming in to support the Islamic State.

In north-eastern Syria a new alliance of Kurds, Christians and Arabs is pushing back Islamic State militants along the border with Iraq.

But General Sir Nicholas Houghton, chief of the Defence Staff, said it “makes no sense” for the United Kingdom to be taking part in airstrikes against the terrorist group in Iraq but not in neighbouring Syria.

Two small USA teams are supposed to assess the security situation on the ground and coordinate with local Syrian forces in the country.

On November 8, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq.

We begin with the United States’ escalating military role in Syria’s civil war. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, for example, have moved most of their aircraft to focus more on their fight against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Some of the other countries that are also participating, some of the Arab countries, including Jordan out of solidarity to the Saudis, have also shifted some of their combat missions to Yemen as well.

Coalition strikes since July in Syria have been concentrated around al Hasakah, a town near the northeastern frontier on the route to Sinjar, Tal Afar and Mosul in northwestern Iraq. The American troops will be stationed in the territory controlled by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in north-eastern Syria.

Carter, appearing Sunday on US television while aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt in the South China Sea, said that as the USA learned in Iraq and Afghanistan, the key to victory is having local forces capable not only of winning but also keeping the peace. He added that those allies still fly periodic missions in Syria and allow American jets to use their bases. Under new Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Canada is withdrawing its modest forces from the region. Great Britain – tired, timid, and lacking confidence – can’t decide whether to join the fight or not. The US teams will work for weeks and perhaps months at what serves as headquarters for one or more of these groups to coordinate their tactics, operational planning and logistics. “It’s a Band-Aid”, said Frederic Hof, a former State Department official who has worked with Syrian rebels. Defeating them will not deter Iran from their hegemonistic designs.

The recent election of the hard-left Jeremy Corbyn as the leader of the Labour Party and Russia’s military intervention in Syria have made it even less likely that Cameron will call for a vote. They blame America for their own corruption and incompetence.