06-08-2017, 09:54 PM
*** 9-Jun-17 World View -- US and Iran headed for military confrontation in Deir az-Zour in eastern Syria
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** US warplanes strike Iran-backed pro-Syrian forces twice on Thursday
****
American-backed forces, Iran-backed forces and ISIS are all headed for a military confrontation in Deir az-Zour (Debka)
US warplanes struck Iran-backed pro-Syrian forces twice on Thursday,
making those the second and third such strikes in the last month.
According to the military, all three of the strikes were for the
protection of American and coalition forces stationed in the al-Tanf
base, on Route 1 on the border between Iraq and Syria.
On Thursday, coalition warplanes destroyed two armed pro-regime
vehicles that were traveling toward the al-Tanf base. They were
inside a "de-confliction zone," as specified by an agreement between
Russia and the US to keep potentially hostile forces separated in
Syria.
Later on Thursday, a US aircraft shot down an armed pro-Syrian
unmanned drone that had dropped munitions in a region occupied by
American and coalition personnel. The munitions did not cause any
casualties.
US Army spokesman Colonel Ryan Dillon said in a statement on
Thursday:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"The pro-regime UAV, similar in size to a U.S. MQ-1
> Predator, was shot down by a U.S. aircraft after it dropped one of
> several weapons it was carrying near a position occupied by
> Coalition personnel who are training and advising partner ground
> forces in the fight against ISIS.
>
> The shoot down follows an earlier engagement in the day in which
> Coalition forces destroyed two pro-regime armed technical vehicles
> that advanced toward Coalition forces at At-Tanf inside the
> established de-confliction zone threatening Coalition and partner
> forces.
>
> The Coalition does not seek to fight Syrian regime, Russian or
> pro-regime forces partnered with them. The demonstrated hostile
> intent and actions of pro-regime forces near Coalition and partner
> forces in southern Syria, however, continue to concern us and the
> Coalition will take appropriate measures to protect our
> forces."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
There's already been one deadly confrontation, as we reported in May.
A pro-Syrian regime
convoy was headed in the direction of the al-Tanf camp. US warplanes
were scrambled in a "show of force" to dissuade the convoy from
proceeding further. That show of force was only partially successful,
as five of the vehicles continued approaching the base. In response,
American warplanes launched a series of airstrikes against the
military convoy, destroying all the vehicles. CNN and Military.com and ARA News (Syria Kurds)
****
**** US and Iran headed for military confrontation in Deir az-Zour in eastern Syria
****
There are numerous different forces operating in Syria and Iraq --
Americans, Turks, Kurds, Syrians, Iranians, Hezbollah, al-Qaeda, the
Free Syrian Army (FSA) and the so-called Islamic State (IS or ISIS or
ISIL or Daesh). As we've been saying for months, all of these forces
(except ISIS) have been united only in that they were all nominally
fighting against ISIS, albeit with a variety of hidden and conflicting
objectives. Now that that the defeat of ISIS in Raqqa in Syria and in
Mosul in Iraq appears to be increasingly imminent, all of these
different forces will have no one to shoot at except each other.
The main military objective of Iran and the Syrian regime is to have
complete control of a route, such as Route 1, between Baghdad and
Damascus, so that Iran can easily transfer fighters and weapons into
Syria, where they can be used against Sunnis, or handed off to
Hezbollah for attacks on Israel. The US is opposed to allowing this
route to be open.
As ISIS is forced to cede territory, different forces compete to
control that territory, and it appears that the next major
confrontation will be over the oil-rich region surrounding Deir
az-Zour, the largest urban center in eastern Syria. ISIS has moved
fighters fleeing from Mosul and Raqqa into Deir az-Zour, making the
battle for this city likely to be as bloody as the battles for Mosul
and Raqqa. A US-backed coalition of rebel groups are moving in, as
are Syrian and Iran-backed forces, from different directions.
[Note: If you read the media reports, you'll find the name of this
city in English spelled in a large variety of ways: Deir az-Zour =
Deir Ezzor = Deir al-Zour = Deir ez-Zor = Deir Azzour]
Some reports indicate that the US has set up a forward base at al-Zukf
(or al-Zkuf), 70 km northwest of the al-Tanf base. The goal is to be
in position to support its coalition of rebel groups in their battle
against ISIS in Deir az-Zour. There are already been clashes between
these groups and Iran-backed forces. Washington Post and Global Research and Debka
Related Articles
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Iran, Syria, Deir az-Zour,
al-Tanf, al-Zkuf, al-Zukf,
Iraq, Hezbollah, Russia, Ryan Dillon, Raqqa, Mosul,
Islamic State / of Iraq and Syria/Sham/the Levant, IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh
Deir Ezzor, Deir al-Zour, Deir ez-Zor, Deir Azzour
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- US warplanes strike Iran-backed pro-Syrian forces twice on Thursday
- US and Iran headed for military confrontation in Deir az-Zour in eastern Syria
****
**** US warplanes strike Iran-backed pro-Syrian forces twice on Thursday
****
American-backed forces, Iran-backed forces and ISIS are all headed for a military confrontation in Deir az-Zour (Debka)
US warplanes struck Iran-backed pro-Syrian forces twice on Thursday,
making those the second and third such strikes in the last month.
According to the military, all three of the strikes were for the
protection of American and coalition forces stationed in the al-Tanf
base, on Route 1 on the border between Iraq and Syria.
On Thursday, coalition warplanes destroyed two armed pro-regime
vehicles that were traveling toward the al-Tanf base. They were
inside a "de-confliction zone," as specified by an agreement between
Russia and the US to keep potentially hostile forces separated in
Syria.
Later on Thursday, a US aircraft shot down an armed pro-Syrian
unmanned drone that had dropped munitions in a region occupied by
American and coalition personnel. The munitions did not cause any
casualties.
US Army spokesman Colonel Ryan Dillon said in a statement on
Thursday:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"The pro-regime UAV, similar in size to a U.S. MQ-1
> Predator, was shot down by a U.S. aircraft after it dropped one of
> several weapons it was carrying near a position occupied by
> Coalition personnel who are training and advising partner ground
> forces in the fight against ISIS.
>
> The shoot down follows an earlier engagement in the day in which
> Coalition forces destroyed two pro-regime armed technical vehicles
> that advanced toward Coalition forces at At-Tanf inside the
> established de-confliction zone threatening Coalition and partner
> forces.
>
> The Coalition does not seek to fight Syrian regime, Russian or
> pro-regime forces partnered with them. The demonstrated hostile
> intent and actions of pro-regime forces near Coalition and partner
> forces in southern Syria, however, continue to concern us and the
> Coalition will take appropriate measures to protect our
> forces."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
There's already been one deadly confrontation, as we reported in May.
A pro-Syrian regime
convoy was headed in the direction of the al-Tanf camp. US warplanes
were scrambled in a "show of force" to dissuade the convoy from
proceeding further. That show of force was only partially successful,
as five of the vehicles continued approaching the base. In response,
American warplanes launched a series of airstrikes against the
military convoy, destroying all the vehicles. CNN and Military.com and ARA News (Syria Kurds)
****
**** US and Iran headed for military confrontation in Deir az-Zour in eastern Syria
****
There are numerous different forces operating in Syria and Iraq --
Americans, Turks, Kurds, Syrians, Iranians, Hezbollah, al-Qaeda, the
Free Syrian Army (FSA) and the so-called Islamic State (IS or ISIS or
ISIL or Daesh). As we've been saying for months, all of these forces
(except ISIS) have been united only in that they were all nominally
fighting against ISIS, albeit with a variety of hidden and conflicting
objectives. Now that that the defeat of ISIS in Raqqa in Syria and in
Mosul in Iraq appears to be increasingly imminent, all of these
different forces will have no one to shoot at except each other.
The main military objective of Iran and the Syrian regime is to have
complete control of a route, such as Route 1, between Baghdad and
Damascus, so that Iran can easily transfer fighters and weapons into
Syria, where they can be used against Sunnis, or handed off to
Hezbollah for attacks on Israel. The US is opposed to allowing this
route to be open.
As ISIS is forced to cede territory, different forces compete to
control that territory, and it appears that the next major
confrontation will be over the oil-rich region surrounding Deir
az-Zour, the largest urban center in eastern Syria. ISIS has moved
fighters fleeing from Mosul and Raqqa into Deir az-Zour, making the
battle for this city likely to be as bloody as the battles for Mosul
and Raqqa. A US-backed coalition of rebel groups are moving in, as
are Syrian and Iran-backed forces, from different directions.
[Note: If you read the media reports, you'll find the name of this
city in English spelled in a large variety of ways: Deir az-Zour =
Deir Ezzor = Deir al-Zour = Deir ez-Zor = Deir Azzour]
Some reports indicate that the US has set up a forward base at al-Zukf
(or al-Zkuf), 70 km northwest of the al-Tanf base. The goal is to be
in position to support its coalition of rebel groups in their battle
against ISIS in Deir az-Zour. There are already been clashes between
these groups and Iran-backed forces. Washington Post and Global Research and Debka
Related Articles
- US and Iran-backed troops head for confrontation at al-Tanf on Iraq-Syria border (05-Jun-2017)
- US warplanes strike Syrian regime military convoy near al-Tanf base (19-May-2017)
- Turkey builds a northern Syria 'National Army' from Free Syrian Army militias (31-May-2017)
- Russia's policies thrown into confusion as US resumes its 'world policeman' role (09-Apr-2017)
- Jordan on alert as ISIS captures more Iraq border towns (23-Jun-2014)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Iran, Syria, Deir az-Zour,
al-Tanf, al-Zkuf, al-Zukf,
Iraq, Hezbollah, Russia, Ryan Dillon, Raqqa, Mosul,
Islamic State / of Iraq and Syria/Sham/the Levant, IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh
Deir Ezzor, Deir al-Zour, Deir ez-Zor, Deir Azzour
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe