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How Trump Could Deal a Blow to Iran and Help Save Syria

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05.22.2017 at 10:57am

How Trump Could Deal a Blow to Iran and Help Save Syria by Josh Rogin, Washington Post

Despite President Trump’s reluctance to get deeply involved in the Syrian civil war, the United States now finds itself in the middle of an escalating battle in the country’s south that last week led to a clash between the U.S. military and Iranian-backed pro-government forces. If he can seize the opportunity, Trump could deal a blow to Iranian regional influence and help save Syria in the process.

To hear the Trump administration tell it, the coalition airstrike May 18 near the al-Tanf base on Syria’s border with Jordan and Iraq was a one-off event. A statement from U.S. Central Command said that “pro-regime forces” had crossed into an “established de-confliction zone,” posing a threat to opposition forces and the U.S. troops who are training them.

But the skirmish near al-Tanf was not an isolated incident. According to officials, experts and rebel leaders on the ground, an ongoing and rapidly accelerating confrontation in that area was triggered by an offensive by Iranian-backed militias. Iran is trying to establish strategic control over territory creating a corridor from Lebanon and Syria through Baghdad to Tehran.

If successful, the Iranian campaign would drastically reshape the regional security situation, harm the fight against the Islamic State in the nearby city of Deir al-Zour and directly undermine U.S. efforts to train and equip an indigenous Sunni Arab fighting force, which is essential to establishing long-term stability.

In short, it’s a fight that the United States cannot and should not avoid. It’s also an opportunity for Trump to accomplish what his administration says it wants to do in the Middle East: Push back against Iranian aggression and expansionism…

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