Western attacks expose foreign control over Syria

Attacks by the US, Israel and Turkey in Syria generate chaos, while the country’s future is decided by external powers in a veiled war

US military forces have carried out intense airstrikes in Syria since the collapse of the Assad regime over the weekend, and they are not the only countries searching for targets in this uncertain time.

American, Israeli and Turkish forces have been involved in bombings across Syrian territory in recent days, with actions seen as supporting the national security interests of their respective countries.

For the United States, this means continuing to fight the Islamic State, as it has done in recent years, but with greater intensity to keep the group under control. The Biden administration has stated that this mission will continue despite uncertainty about the future of Syrian leadership.

The United States reiterated its commitment to the definitive defeat of ISIS. “We don’t want to give ISIS the opportunity to exploit what’s going on,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday, adding: “They love nothing more than a ungoverned space”.

Widespread military action in Syria

As rebel forces arrived in Damascus on Sunday and Syrian President Bashar Assad fled the country, US Air Force B-52 bombers, F-15 fighters and A-10 attack aircraft bombed ISIS targets in central Syria. The widespread attacks targeted the terrorist group’s leaders, operatives and camps, said US Central Command, which oversees operations in the Middle East.

A senior administration official, speaking to reporters, described the combat operation as “significant” and said American warplanes dropped about 140 munitions to hit 75 targets. The US military said the aim of the strikes was to prevent ISIS from reconstituting itself in central Syria.

Jonathan Lord, a former Pentagon political-military analyst, told Business Insider that the US military is “rightly concerned that ISIS might go unnoticed in the chaos,” so it is hitting as many targets as possible.

Retired Gen. Joseph Votel, who oversaw U.S. military operations in the Middle East in the 2010s as Centcom commander, told BI it’s “good” that the U.S. is sending a clear message and taking steps to stop ISIS from exploiting the void in central Syria.

He added that it is important for the US to maintain a small presence in eastern Syria, calling it “a very effective and efficient way to control this threat.”

The widespread bombing since Sunday, however, has not been limited to US actions alone. Israel has carried out more than 300 air strikes in neighboring Syria, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor.

Israel is targeting the remnants of Assad’s former army, including aircraft, ammunition depots, weapons storage facilities, warships, radar systems and additional assets, SOHR said. Israeli officials have said these strikes are intended to prevent weaponry from falling into the hands of potential enemies.

“Israel is not taking any risks with its security and is not waiting to find out whether the new Syrian government is friendly or hostile,” said Lord, who is now director of the Middle East Security program at the Center for a New American Security think tank.

The Israeli army also sent its ground forces across the Syrian border, beyond a United Nations-monitored buffer zone that separates the two countries. The UN criticized the move, which Israel said was a move to protect its citizens amid uncertainty in Damascus.

Avi Melamed, a former Israeli intelligence officer, told BI that the actions are a “combined effort to try to minimize as much as possible the risk of escalating military challenges following the current situation in Syria.”

He said the Israeli approach likely includes diplomatic efforts to complement the airstrikes and the buffer zone operation.

Meanwhile, a Turkish drone attacked a military site in an area controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, SOHR said on Tuesday. Ankara, which views the nearby SDF as a terrorist group, has targeted Kurdish forces for years. The US often works closely with the SDF on anti-ISIS operations.

“The Turks have a legitimate counterterrorism threat that they also have a right to deal with,” said Kirby, the White House spokesman, in response to a reporter’s question about actions against Kurdish groups.

The widespread military actions come in the wake of the shocking collapse of the Syrian Army amid a stunning rebel offensive, just days long, that removed Assad from power. The longtime dictator has relied extensively on military support from Russia, Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah to keep opposition forces in check.

U.S. officials are blaming the fall of the Assad regime on the reality that these three actors have been weakened and distracted of late by their respective conflicts with Ukraine and Israel. Russia in particular used to exercise significant control over Syrian airspace, but the future of Moscow’s military footprint in the country is now unclear.

With information from Business Insider*