FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 6, 2020
Contact: press@defensepriorities.org
WASHINGTON, DC—Today, The Wall Street Journal reported that standoffs between U.S. forces and Russians in Syria have been increasing over recent weeks. Defense Priorities Policy Director Benjamin H. Friedman issued the following statement in response:
“Standoffs between Russian contractors and U.S. forces are an unsurprising reminder of the need to get U.S. forces out of Syria. Though the risk of escalation to war with Russia is low, the massive consequences are worth cautiously avoiding, especially given that the 600 U.S. forces in Syria no longer serve any sensible purpose. And Russia is not the only rival power in Syria whose conflict with U.S. forces might escalate to war.
“Remember that in February 2018, U.S. special operations forces killed maybe 100 Russian mercenaries in an hours-long battle. U.S. Special Enjoy Jim Jeffrey later said minor clashes with Russians were a regular occurrence. The alarming suggestion that U.S. forces were occasionally shooting at a nuclear-armed rival elicited strangely little press or congressional attention.
“Meanwhile in Idlib province, Turkish forces—theoretically backed by the United States via NATO—are fighting Russian-backed Syrian forces, and both Russian and Turkish soldiers have reportedly been killed, though it is not clear by whom. The possibility of a U.S. clash with Iranian backed forces also lingers, creating a risk of escalation like what recently occurred in Iraq. Confrontation with Syrian government forces becomes likelier the longer U.S. forces stay.
“With ISIS’s caliphate gone and its remnants hunted by local powers, the United States has nothing to gain from staying in Syria. Sitting on oil wells just denies the Assad regime, which is regaining control of the country, a bit of revenue, without any greater purpose. Confrontations with Russia are a reminder that keeping U.S. forces in the middle of Syria’s chaotic environment is a needless risk.”
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