The US Slides Deeper into the War in Syria

A Special Forces Operation Detachment-Alpha soldier on patrol. Image: US Army.

This week the US Department of Defense announced that it would send an additional 250 troops to Syria to serve in non-combat support roles. These come in addition to the approximately 50 Special Forces soldiers operating in Northern Syria in support of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). While still small, this new deployment marks the beginning of a move away from the ‘no boots on the ground’ policy of the Obama administration towards Syria.

While not explicitly stated, it is almost certain that these 250 troops being sent to the war-town country will be serving in support of the SDF. The reason for this is that this group is the US’s only successful partner on the ground in the fight against ISIS, and the only one far enough removed from the rebel/regime conflict in order to not cause diplomatic problems with Russia and Iran.

Furthermore, the US has recently constructed an airbase located in Rimelan in SDF-held northeast Syria, and local media there has already begun reporting the arrival of these US troops.

The primary question however is not who they will support, but rather in what manner. Significantly, it remains to be seen exactly how loosely the US defines the ‘support role’ provided by the troops.

While this is mostly talked about from the perspective of training local forces and calling in airstrikes from behind the front lines, this is not always the case. Experience over the last year in Iraq has shown that US troops do occasionally involve themselves in direct fighting with ISIS, and have suffered casualties from this. Moreover, footage has emerged in recent days of western Special Forces engaged in fighting on the front lines with the SDF during their offensive on Al-Shaddadi earlier this year.

With this in mind, it would appear that the US troops announced will play a mixed role; providing training and airstrike targeting support combined with at least some combat teams spearheading key advances. All of this will come in use as the SDF plans to conduct new offensives deep into ISIS-held territory, and into areas which are predominately ethnically Arab. There, support from the local population and tribes will be critical, and US assistance will help fold more non-Kurdish fighters into the SDF, garnering it greater international (and intra-Syrian) legitimacy

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Taking a wider view, the US decision to become more deeply involved in Syria comes alongside moves which suggest the country has decided on the SDF as its favored partner in the country, and the best bet to defeat ISIS. While Russia has raised some concerns with the deployment, it does not interfere significantly with its own objectives for now, and the country is in itself supporting a separate SDF pocket further west. Notwithstanding major changes in the situation on the ground, the deployment of small numbers of US soldiers to the region could become a more regular occurrence as the final push towards ISIS’s capital Ar-Raqqa picks up. 

New arms threat: Argentina's £3billion boost to military

British military chiefs were last night “carefully monitoring” developments after Argentina announced a £3billion revamp of its armed forces.

 

Buenos Aires will acquire military hardware including fighter aircraft, ­anti-aircraft weapons and specialised radar, as well as beefing up its special forces.

 

The news comes months before drilling for oil ­begins in earnest off the Falkland Islands, provoking ­Argentina’s struggling President Cristina ­Fernandez de ­Kirchner.

 

Last month she created a new cabinet post of Secretary for the Malvinas, her country’s name for the Falklands.

 

Meanwhile, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has refused to confirm that Britain would retake the Falklands if they were overrun by enemy forces.

 

The extra cash means Argentina will ­increase defence spending by 33.4 per cent this year, the biggest rise in its history. It will include £750million for 32 ­procurement and modernisation programmes.

 

They will include medium tanks and transport aircraft and the refurbishment of warships and submarines. The shopping list also ­includes Israeli air ­defence systems, naval assault craft, rocket systems, helicopters and a drone project.

 

There will be a range of hi-tech capabilities for the army and the formation of new commando and special ­forces units.

 

In August last year the Sunday Express revealed details of a contract to buy 20 French Mirage fighter jets from Spain, giving Argentina the ability to attack Port Stanley airfield with laser guided bombs.

 

Sources from British oil and gas firm Rockhopper Exploration confirmed serious drilling could begin in a few months. Its Sea Lion field is thought to have 394 million barrels of oil.

 

“We’re just waiting for a rig, which isn’t easy to organise in the South Atlantic, ­before we can escalate to the next stage,” said the source. President de Kirchner’s new Malvinas Secretary Daniel Filmus sent over 200 letters to oil firms threatening fines of up to $1.5billion and 15-year-jail terms if they drilled without consent.

 

Though the threats have no validity in international law, it is seen as an example of the lengths the president will go to in order to bolster domestic political ­support.

Britain has strengthened its defences of the islands, with four RAF Eurofighter Typhoons and 600 troops. A Royal Navy nuclear submarine armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles visits twice a year.

 

Senior military sources told the Sunday Express they were “carefully monitoring” the situation. The real fear, however, is a raid by Argentinian special forces aimed at damaging Port Stanley’s runway.

Admiral Lord West, who was at the helm of HMS Ardent when she was sunk in the Falklands War, said: “Any major increase in defence expenditure by Argentina must be viewed with concern. I am concerned that, without any ­aircraft carriers, we are incapable of ­recapturing them.”

He said Britain’s new carriers will not be operational until 2020 and until then Argentina had a window of opportunity.

Australian soldier dies on 7th Afghanistan tour

An elite Australian soldier was shot dead during his seventh tour of duty in Afghanistan, a commander said Tuesday, raising the number of Australian troops killed in the more-than-decade-long war to 33.

The 40-year-old veteran of the Special Air Service Regiment was killed in the Chora Valley in Uruzgan province on Monday during an operation involving Australian and Afghan troops targeting an insurgent commander, Australian Defense Force Chief Lt. Gen. David Hurley said.

The soldier was evacuated with a chest wound to the military hospital at the Australian base at Tarin Kowt but could not be resuscitated, Hurley said. His name has not been made public at his family’s request.

Hurley said it was “probably unusual” that a soldier had served seven tours, but he added that he does not believe soldiers are being asked to do too much.

“I’m confident that the (psychological) management processes are in place ... and all of them are volunteers to go back to serve in Afghanistan,” he told reporters.

“But it’s an issue we need to keep a sharp eye on,” he added.

Neil James, executive director of the Australian Defense Association, an influential security think tank, said it’s “unusual, but not that unusual” for an SAS soldier to have so many Afghanistan tours.

“The real problem is the country is expecting a very small part of the national family to bear the burden of its wars, and the association doesn’t think that’s right,” he said.

The Australian Defense Force needs to share the fighting load more broadly among its 58,000 troops, he said.

Australia has 1,550 troops in Afghanistan and is the largest military contributor to the U.S.-led alliance outside NATO. Australia also provides the third-largest force of special operations troops after the U.S. and Britain.

Australia’s elite Special Operations Task Force in Afghanistan, which numbers about 300, draws from the SAS and two commando regiments that total fewer than 1,600 troops. The duration of SAS tours are flexible, but they typically extend beyond six months.

After taking command of Australia’s military a year ago, Hurley said the death of a decorated commando on his fifth tour in Afghanistan raised the question of whether Australia was asking too much of its elite soldiers. He then took advice on the subject from regiment commanders.

The soldier killed Monday enlisted in the army in 1990 and joined Australia’s most elite regiment in 1995.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has said the Australian special operations force could remain in Afghanistan after the Afghan military takes charge of their nation’s security in 2014.

She described the latest death as a “dreadful blow.”

“This tragic incident is part of what we are doing in Afghanistan because that mission is so important to our Australian nation,” she said.