U.S. MUST AVOID INVOLVEMENT IN A MIDDLE EAST WAR
BY
ALLAN C. BROWNFELD
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There
is, at the present time, a serious danger that the U.S. may involve
itself in a Middle East war. Sen Rand Paul (R-KY) recently proposed a
joint resolution to remove all U.S. troops within Syria. He declared
that, “The American people have had enough of endless wars in the Middle
East. Yet 900 troops remain in Syria with no vital U.S. interest at
stake, no definition of victory, no exit strategy, and no congressional
authorization to be there.”
In
Sen. Paul’s view, and that of many others, the conflict in Syria is
just one of several forever wars—-including conflicts in Niger and
Somalia—-that continue to smolder more than two decades after 9/11 and
more than two years after President Biden declared that for the first
time in 20 years, the U.S. was not at war.
Heather
Brandon-Smith, legislative director for militarism and human rights for
the Friends Committee on National Legislation, a Quaker group, welcomed
Sen. Paul’s effort as a necessary check on the executive branch: “A
debate really needs to happen about ‘why are we in Syria’ and what
threat to the U.S. homeland do the groups we are fighting pose?’ The
U.S. has been engaged in these wars for two decades and Congress has
been derelict in its duties while the executive branch has vastly
expanded these wars. So Sen. Paul’s War Powers Resolution is one of the
few vehicles that serves to force Congress to take a vote.”
The
U.S. military has been conducting operations in Syria since 2014. U.S.
bases there and in Iraq ostensibly exist to conduct counter-ISIS
missions, despite the fact that the Pentagon concluded in 2021 that the
Jslamic State in Syria ““probably lacks the capability to target the
U.S. homeland.” A recent Inspector General’s report to Congress noted
that, “ISIS capabilities remain degraded and that the group now operates
in survival mode” in both Iraq and Syria.
Robert
Ford, former U.S. ambassador to Syria, says, “The U.S. cannot fix
Syria, yet we still have 900 troops in Eastern Syria for eight years,
going on nine. I’m puzzled that we haven’t had a national debate about
the authorization of military force. There needs to be a definition of
the mission of U.S. forces. Otherwise you’re in a forever war.”
Since
the October outbreak of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, bases
in both Syria and Iraq have come under regular attack. Between Oct. 17
and Dec. 4, U.S. forces on these bases have been attacked at least 76
times, according to the Pentagon.
Sen.
Paul’s resolution cited the 1973 War Powers Resolution, which was
“designed to limit the U.S. President’s ability to initiate or escalate
military actions abroad”—-and directs the President to remove the U.S.
military from hostilities in Syria since there has been neither a
declaration of war nor any other specific authorization by the
legislative branch.
Sen.
paul declares: “If we are going to deploy our young men and women in
uniform to Syria to fight and potentially give their life for some
supposed cause, shouldn’t we as their elected representatives at least
debate the merits of sending them there. Shouldn’t we do our
constitutional duty and debate if the mission we are sending them on is
achievable?
The Senate,
on Dec. 7, voted down a bill 84-13 that would have required President
Biden to withdraw the roughly 900 troops stationed in Syria. In Sen.
Paul’s view, “It seems to me, though our 900 troops have no viable
mission in Syria, that they’re sitting ducks. They’re a tripwire to a
larger war.”
Or consider
the war in Gaza. The Biden administration is proposing to send Israel
additional funds—-more than $14 billion—— to conduct its attack on Gaza,
which has already cost the lives of more than 13,000 civilians and
which many legal authorities say is in violation of international law.
Israel is already the largest recipient of U.S. foreign assistance.
Since the end of World War 11. It has received more than $260 billion in
U.S. aid—-plus additional funds for Iron Dome and other weapons
systems. Israel now receives more than $3.8 billion in aid annually.
While
Israel receives massive aid, it rejects U.S. policy advice and has
harmed U.S. interests in the region. President Biden repeatedly calls
for a two-state solution and the creation of a Palestinian state.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu says there will never be a Palestinian
state while he holds office. He and members of his cabinet speak openly
of annexing the West Bank, which it now occupies in violation of
international law, and expelling its indigenous Palestinian residents.
Israel
is also ignoring U.S. wishes in Gaza. Secretary of State Blinken said
in early December in Tel Aviv that Israel has “agreed” that its military
operations in Gaza would protect civilians and allow significantly
increased humanitarian aid into the enclave. At this writing, more than a
week later, this has not yet happened. Twenty six U.S. Senators, led
by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) are explicitly trying to tie strings to
U.S. aid by urging Israel to reduce civilian deaths in Gaza and crack
down on vigilante settlers in the West Bank.
Sen.
Van Hollen and his colleagues state that, “We continue to support
additional assistance to Israel in the aftermath of the brutal Hamas
attacks, but we are all in agreement that the assistance must be
consistent with our interests and values and used in a manner that
adheres to international humanitarian law, the law of armed conflict and
U.S. law. We need to find a better path toward helping Israel achieve
legitimate military and security objectives. U.S. assistance has never
come in the form of a blank check—-regardless of the recipient.”
Israel
has a history of ignoring U.S. policy suggestions. David K. Shipler,
who was New York Times correspondent in Jerusalem and is the Pulitzer
Prize-winning author of “Arab and Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Promised
Land,” points out that, “Periodically, as American administrations
extracted promises to ‘freeze’ settlements while peace talks were
underway, Israel’s governments evaded the pledge by merely expanding
existing settlements rather than building new ones. Authorities have
winked as small groups of Israelis have put house trailers illegally on
West Bank hilltops as embryonic settlements , unauthorized at first and
then often legitimized.”
He
notes that, “Gradually, over the decades, the amalgam of religious and
nationalist drives have moved closer and closer to the center of power.
No settlers were in the cabinet of Prime Minister Begin, despite his
passionate pursuit of Jewish settlements…Today, two hard-right settlers
have key positions. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National
Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Smotrich urges discrimination
against Arabs and permanent control of the West Bank. Ben-Gvir, an
admirer of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane’s call for stripping citizenship
from Arab residents of Israel, supports their segregation in public
places.”
Israel’s
policies, some of which we strongly disapprove, would not be possible,
many argue, without massive U.S.aid. In shipler’s view, “Technically,
American aid isn’t used directly to build the settlements’ roads, walls,
electrical grids or housing. But money is fungible, and it’s worth
asking what impact over the years the U.S. might have had by deducting,
say, two dollars of economic or military assistance for every one dollar
Israel spent on settlements…it’s due for consideration with the Gaza
war and West Bank clashes raging, the settlement problem has grown
visible enough to invite the U.S. to squeeze Israel with some tough
love.”
Whether in Syria,
Iraq or Israel, the U.S. must be careful not to find itself involved in a
war which could cost American lives without serving any legitimate
American interests.