The United States bombs 9 sites in Syria against Iran-backed militias.

 

A B-52 Stratofortress deployed to the Middle East. Fox News/CENTCOM photo. 

The United States has bombed nine sites in Syria against Iran-backed militias. Fox News. The bombings were in response to several attacks on US forces in the region in the past 24 hours. The bombings are meant to disrupt the Iranian militias and their ability to launch attacks on US forces deployed in Syria to fight ISIS. The incident comes after the United States has deployed B-52 bombers to the region in support of Israel. Tensions with Iran are high after tit-for-tat strikes between Israel and Iran. An Iranian foreign national was also charged with an attempt to assassinate President elect Donald Trump.

My Comment:

There really isn't a lot of information about this incident. We don't know what kind of strikes these were, how effective they were and where exactly this happened. Given that most of our troops in Syria are deployed in the southeast part of the country near the Tanf border area, I am guessing it was in that general region. 

Regardless, it's probably good to remind people that we do indeed still have troops in Syria. What they are doing their is pretty clear. I don't think it has much to do with ISIS anymore, ISIS is hardly even active in Syria anymore. Instead our troops are there to counteract these Iranian militias, largely because they threaten Israel. 

I am slightly concerned that there could be another war in the region before Donald Trump takes office. The article mentioned three things, the strikes, the B-52 deployment and the supposed assassination plot on Trump from Iran. Taken alone it wouldn't mean much, but all three at once? Not good news. 

The B-52 deployment is pretty significant. The heavy bombers would not be particularly useful in a war against Iran due to their old age and limited defensive capabilities, but they would be good bomb trucks against targets in Iraq and Syria. And it's a major warning for Iran given the fact that those bombers are indeed powerful. 

As for the plot against Trump, it seems mostly like a nothingburger. Supposedly there was a plot by an Iranian national to get a murder for hire plot going against Trump, but it never got passed the planning phase and it's unclear how involved Iran was in the plot. The plotter wasn't even in the United States, so I doubt it actually had much going on, but it's still another example of high tensions between the United States and Iran...