Ridge Runner Chronicles: Why Are We Bombing Syrians?
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By Bill Hoagland
Have you heard of the “Battle of Conoco Fields”? Me neither, until I recently read “The Wagner Group”, a book about the Russian mercenaries who are fighting on behalf of Russia in Syria and other parts of the Middle East and Africa. The “Battle of Conoco Fields”, which is described in that book, involved direct fighting between Russians and US personnel in Syria in 2017 and included our B 52s bombing Russian tanks and killing at least 80 Russian mercenaries. Are you as surprised as I was about this potentially explosive incident? The point here is that we Americans who are outside the “deep state” know very little about what has been going on in Syria over the past few years. And here we are again, this week, with President Biden ordering that our B 52s bomb selected locations in Syria. So whom are we bombing and why? And an even bigger question is who in the “deep state” told President Biden he needed to authorize this?
The people fighting in Syria right now are, on one hand, the Syrian pro-government fighters, Russian mercenaries, Iranians and others supporting Assad, and on the other hand, a mix of islamists, including a group led by Abu Mohammed al Jawlani, who fought against Americans during the Iraq invasion and whom we imprisoned for five years in Iraq. One could easily conclude that both sides in this Syrian fight hate Americans. All more the reason to bomb them with our B 52s, right? After all, nothing does a better job of sorting out the good guys from the bad guys than bombs from B 52s.
I read where an unidentified source within our government said we are doing this “to make a statement”; in other words, it is to let the world know we still want to be recognized as a powerful player in the Middle East so that at some point, we can again restore stability in the countries that we invade, such as Viet Nam, Afghanistan and Iraq. Our involvement in Syria at this point seems so ill-advised that I seriously have to wonder if Dick Cheney is somehow calling the shots. The current administration has only 40 days left, after which time the new administration will consider how best to undertake a totally new direction in dealing with the Middle East.
Yes, I know that Abu Mohammed al Jawlani, the leader of the insurrectionists, has told the Wall Street Journal that he is “a changed man” and that his intentions are good as he takes over in Syria. Perhaps he is saying this so that we don’t impede him as he takes control—I don’t know if he has really changed or not and I doubt that anyone else does either. But I don’t see how Jawlani can completely discard his feelings about us that were percolating during his five years in our prison, can you? In short, there are lots of serious long-term issues in Syria that cannot and won’t be resolved with a few rounds of B 52 bombings from us.
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ν Bill Hoagland has practiced law in Alton for more than 50 years, but he has spent more than 70 years hunting, fishing and generally being in the great outdoors. His wife, Annie, shares his love of the outdoor life. Much of their spare time is spent on their farm in Calhoun County. Bill can be reached at [email protected].
