Why There Is No End in Sight to America’s Generational Conflicts

Rasa - At a time when America is laying the groundwork for its next wars in the Middle East, it’s a bit too early for Iraqi government officials to jump into the conclusion that because of the victory over ISIL, US ground troops have begun withdrawing from the country, as part of a substantial drawdown.

News ID: 436348

Date: 10 February 2018 - 21:23

RNA - Lest they forget, US officials have long maintained their presence in Iraq is “permanent,” suggesting any drawdown would be limited. Moreover, the Pentagon regime doesn’t even give us figures on troop levels in Iraq anymore, so large numbers of troops could likely be withdrawn and there would still be enough troops in Iraq as to be in excess of the latest published levels. Besides, the entire narrative of ISIL – America’s own creation - having been defeated might not be something the Pentagon regime wants to like either, as it is liable to harm the justification of them keeping their occupying troops in Iraq and the rest of the region eternally.

In the case of Syria, America’s perpetual war is far from over, while the Turkish military invasion of Afrin is about to be added to the rubble of the region too.  As a consequence, the damage that began with the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 has now spread to Turkey, already filled with Syrian refugees. Angry over American backing for separatist Kurdish forces in northern Syria, Ankara is potentially repeating on a small scale the American blunder of 2003.  It could get big and the illegal invasion won’t go splendidly.

Coming back to the initial argument, US troops have already occupied northern Syria and, as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson only recently announced, they are slated to stay there not just until the last ISIL fighter is wiped off the face of the Earth, but until the end of time - a decision for which the Trump White House has no UN endorsement or Syrian sanction. This is because the stated goal is to support separatist Kurdish fighters in the region and play a role in undermining both the Syrian government and its Iranian backers.

As is, it’s hard to know what will come of all this, as with so much else in American war-making over these last 17 years, it’s reasonable to assume that it won’t be good, or peaceable, or end particularly well, or possibly at all.  But one thing is certain: There will be no American military victory in Syria, nor will there be any Turkish military victory. Quite the opposite, if the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Yemen are any indication, the damage will only spread, more civilians will die, more homes will be destroyed, more populations will be uprooted, and more embittered locals will be primed to join yet newer terror groups almost everywhere.

To that end, a network of 800 military bases spread across 172 countries will help enable America’s perpetual wars and generational conflicts - the desire for absolute power with precision strike systems, highly mobile nuclear missiles and sophisticated area-denial systems. By the count of the Pentagon regime, at the end of the last fiscal year about 291,000 personnel were deployed in 183 countries worldwide, which is the functional definition of a military uncontained and unaccountable.  After all, the War Party leaders continue to insist that the US must have a military not only second to none but globally dominant.

In today’s climate of generational conflicts, however, don’t expect the War Party to abandon the notion of unending wars and generational conflicts, much less accept the changing conditions in the world that nullify US power, adopt new doctrines that encapsulate ideas of impending conflicts and wage peace, turn the Pentagon regime into a “defense” department, start following the UN Charter and International Law, learn lessons from the Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Yemen fiascos, choose to rein in its pride and vanity, and take ownership of the resulting mess and leave.

The message all this tells is too painful to hear. The innocent civilians wounded, crippled and dead, in this great American charade, will always be swiftly carted offstage throughout the Middle East and beyond. They are forever the usual victims of America’s perpetual wars and dominance, doomed to float around the edges of American consciousness, all while ignored and reviled.

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