US should end 'provocative military presence' in Iraq, Syria: US media

The United States should end its “outdated and unnecessarily provocative” military presence in Syria and Iraq as the troops are not "keeping the peace," says an American report.

“President Joe Biden should redeploy these forces to a safer position offshore and leave it to self-interested Syrians and Iraqis to prevent Daesh from reemerging,” reads an article published in Responsible Statecraft, an online magazine of Washington-based Quincy Institute, on Monday.

The importance of the withdrawal of American troops from Syria and Iraq surfaced after Washington’s support for the Israeli aggression on the besieged Gaza Strip triggered retaliatory attacks on US military bases in Syria and Iraq, and sparked concerns that the war could spill over into the region.

“Pivoting out of Syria and Iraq will not make Americans any less safe, but it will deny local militias… the chance to use unneeded outposts for leverage over our national strategy,” the article said, noting that “over sixty Americans” were injured in the retaliatory missile and drone attacks in the past five weeks.

There are roughly 2,500 American troops in Iraq and some 900 in Syria as part of, what Washington claims to be, a fighting force against Daesh. The US has maintained its presence, although, the Arab countries and their allies defeated the Takfiri terrorist group in late 2017.

“Daesh has long since been defeated and Operation Inherent Resolve should be shuttered at the first opportunity,” the article said.

SS