Amid last Thursday’s strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen, the assassination of a Hamas leader in Lebanon and the possibility of an escalation in the Israel-Hamas war, the United States should disentangle itself from the current conflict. Potential quagmires await from confronting Iranian proxies in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Lebanon, and American interests would be harmed by misadventures in these places.
The U.S. has been recycling the same playbook since 2019 in dealing with Iranian proxies: sanction them, conduct strikes, and wait for the ensuing blowback. Since October 17, there have been 134 attacks on American personnel. The lack of fatalities has helped keep escalation low, but circumstances and not prudence have shaped this outcome.
If American troops are to be anything other than bait for rocket attacks, they cannot be left in this tenuous position. Iran’s grip on militias in Iraq effectively gives them tens of thousands of loyal fighters, who can be equipped with advanced drones and missiles in short order. The JV squad may not be able to harm U.S. troops, but Iran has a plethora of more advanced systems in reserve that it can disperse if conditions merit their use.
American troops, with limited air defense coverage in the Syrian desert, would pay the price.
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