US special forces to advance 'balkanization of Iraq and Syria'

The arrival of 200 American special operations troops in Iraq is a prelude to the return of a robust US military presence in the Middle East, as part of broader efforts to advance the "balkanization of Iraq and Syria," says an American analyst.

“The US once again has boots on the ground in Iraq. Before long, nearly 2,000 special forces will be deployed to Iraq and Syria, ostensibly to fight ISIL,” Dennis Etler, professor of anthropology at Cabrillo College in Aptos, California, said on Thursday.

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Wednesday that the United States had deployed about 200 special operations forces to Iraq “to work with” the Iraqi military in the fight against the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group.

Iraqi officials have repeatedly denounced the deployment of US troops to their country with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi stressing that any such plan requires his government's consent.

“The US disengaged from Iraq in October 2011 as agreed upon earlier and all combat troops and military advisers were withdrawn. The lack of a status of forces agreement between the two parties precluded the continued stationing of US troops in Iraq,” Professor Etler told Press TV.

US assurances of no value 

“At the time of the US withdrawal it was stated that the Iraqi military was sufficiently trained and equipped to handle its own security. But as in Vietnam and Afghanistan beforehand and after nearly a decade of effort, these assurances were not worth the paper they were printed on,” he continued.

He said that “the lack of stability of the fragile Iraqi government” along with “US, Israeli and Saudi efforts” to train and arm militant forces in neighboring Syria to fight the Syrian government led to the emergence and spread of Daesh in the region. 

“US policy in Iraq has been very opaque,” the analyst noted. “There has been much discussion in government circles about the partition of Iraq into sectarian enclaves. The same applies to Syria."

“The balkanization of Iraq and Syria is in keeping with previous efforts in both the former Soviet Union and former Yugoslavia. The fragmentation of multinational federal republics allows the US to wield more control over strategic areas of the world which had previously been beyond its influence, furthering its own interests and those of its client states in the regions concerned," Professor Etler said.

War on ISIL to last for years 

“The presence of US special forces in both Syria and Iraq which are said to combat ISIL is actually meant to further US objectives in the region. Like the War on Terrorism itself, the war against ISIL is projected to last for years on end, thus allowing the US to continue its military intervention in the area.

“It is not meant to defeat ISIL, but keep it on a tighter leash so that it will do what it was meant to do; advance US, Saudi and Israeli interests in the region," the analyst said.

“The turmoil fostered by ISIL has benefited the US by giving it the rationale to maintain its military presence in Iraq and extend it into Syria, something that would otherwise have been impossible,” Professor Etler concluded.

Last year, the Pentagon deployed about 50 US special operations troops in Syria to work with US-backed militants fighting both Daesh terrorists and the Syrian government.

The Pentagon will also deploy about 500 soldiers to Iraq and Kuwait next month.

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