If anybody thought the February 2 U.S. strikes against Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria were going to end the attacks on U.S. assets in the region, they were sorely mistaken.
The drone strike on a U.S. base in Syria that occurred days later, killing six members of the Syrian Democratic Forces, is a testament to just how difficult it is to deter non-state actors (Report, February 6).
The U.S. appears to be betting that military force, in the right frequency and location, will eventually convince the militias Iran supports to reassess their policy of harassing the U.S. troops stationed in Iraq and Syria.
Yet very rarely do U.S. policymakers acknowledge the flipside of the coin: coercing armed non-state actors to change their behaviour isn’t as simple as inflicting enough pain over time.
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