By Geoff LaMear
Officials confirmed that a drone attack and accompanying mortar fire targeted U.S. troops near Al-Tanf, Syria, on Wednesday. Thankfully, there were no American casualties. But given that this incident could have easily resulted in the death of U.S. troops, a bigger question needs to be asked: is it worth it?
The U.S. mission in Syria is of dubious value. Originally, the U.S. sought to use Syrian rebels as its force on the ground to combat both the Islamic State and the Syrian government under Bashar al-Assad. When these costly endeavors failed, U.S. military involvement expanded to advising and providing fire support for the primarily Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as they reconquered ISIS-controlled cities.
Since then, despite ISIS losing its oil wells, its territorial control and its leadership, the U.S. presence in Syria has persisted. Mission creep has taken over, and the conditions for leaving have grown increasingly unrealistic.
This piece was originally published in Newsweek on October 25, 2021. Read more HERE.