February 26, 2021
In a surprise decision, President Biden has ordered a bombing raid on 11 buildings in Syria used by Iranian-commanded militias.
It was the first case of Biden taking military action against Iran and it came February 26, just 36 days after Biden took office with a pledge to try to resume diplomacy with the Islamic Republic.
The bombing raid came as the Biden Administration has been trying to figure out how to convince Iran that Tehran is not improving its leverage on the nuclear issue by attacking American interests.
David Albright of the Institute for Science and International Security said in an interview: “Clearly, Iran wants to bolster their leverage. And I think they are overplaying their hand.”
The bombing raids were a response to rocket attacks in the previous 10 days on three US sites in Iraq. There were two notable points about the decision to strike in Syria.
First, by hitting in Syria, Biden avoided causing more problems for the Iraqi government, which has been under heavy pressure from Iraqi hardliners to force all US troops out of Iraq. Much of the Iraqi public was incensed by US military actions inside Iraq, especially the drone attack that killed five Iraqis as well as Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleymani though there has not been a similar level of anger over Iran’s firing of missiles at an Iraqi base, part of which is used by the Americans.
Second, Biden decided on a stronger response than President Trump would likely have taken. In the latest rocket attacks, one American soldier was injured but no Americans were killed. Trump had publicly set a standard that he would retaliate if any American was killed. Biden has now upped the ante.
The Biden Administration earlier said it would hold Iran responsible for any attacks on Americans by Iraqi militia groups it supported. Some question whether the militiamen might be operating on their own. But analysts have said that Iran could stop then from doing so if it wished. After the first attack, the Islamic Republic publicly denied any involvement.
The strikes killed at least 22 people, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, citing unconfirmed local reports. But Kata’eb Hezb-ollah, the Iranian-backed Iraqi militia that said it was the target, insisted only one of its members had been killed. It identified him as Sayyid Rahi Salam Zayid ash-Sharifi.
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby portrayed the bombing as carefully calibrated, calling it “proportionate” and “defensive.” He said the bombs destroyed nine buildings and damaged two others.
Some analysts said the Administration believed Iran was testing it and that, if Washington didn’t respond now, Iran would raise the level of its attacks until it killed Americans.
After the air raid, Biden was asked his reason for launching it. “You can’t act with impunity. Be careful,” he said.
It now remains to be seen how the Islamic Republic will respond—and whether it responds militarily.
Kirby said the air raid struck a border crossing point between Al-Bukamal and Al-Qaim. The operation “destroyed multiple facilities located at a border control point used by a number of Iranian-backed militant groups,” including Kata’eb Hezbollah and Kata’eb Sayyid ash-Shuhada, he said.
The Syrian government condemned the attack Friday, calling it “cowardly US aggression.”
Russia complained that the Americans gave it “just four or five minutes’ warning before the strikes. This kind of notification does nothing when the strike is literally already on its way,” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters in Moscow.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said most of the 22 people killed in the bombings were members of Iraqi militias run by Iran. The monitoring group did not provide details about how it obtained that figure but Rami Abdulrahman, head of the rights organization, told NBC News it was based on speaking to sources inside Syria.
He added that the death toll was expected to rise, due to the number of people seriously wounded.
Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB news, meanwhile, said 17 “resistance fighters” were killed in the strikes, but it also didn’t provide detail about the source of that figure other than citing “reports.”
A senior US defense official told NBC News that the target was a transit hub on the border used by the militia fighters.
Two US aircraft were involved in the strike that took place at about 2 a.m. Friday Syrian time, the official said. If no barracks buildings were hit, it would appear the US was trying to minimize the casualties and maximize the message by striking in the middle of the night.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters Biden had approved the operation several hours before it was carried out. He said that an Iraqi government investigation had pinpointed the Iraqi militias that launched the rocket attacks prompting the air raid.
Three attacks prompted the response.
First, at least two 107mm rockets were fired at the airport in Erbil, in the Kurdish area of northern Iraq February 15. The airport houses both the civilian airport for Erbil and an American base. A Filipino contractor was killed and a US service member and eight non-Americans were wounded.
An obscure group called Saraya Oliya ad-Dam, or Custodians of the Blood, claimed responsibility. But former diplomats and regional analysts said the group was merely a front organization created by the main Shiite militias in Iraq.
Second, Iraq’s Balad air base came under fire five days after the Erbil attack and was hit by at least four rockets. A US defense firm services Iraq’s fighter jets at that base.
Finally, two rockets landed near the US Embassy compound in Baghdad.
The rockets are very inaccurate weapons. They cannot be aimed with the goal of trying to cause casualties or trying to avoid casualties.
Dennis Ross, a former senior US diplomat who worked on Middle East policy under several presidents, said the administration had lowered the risk of causing friction with the Iraqi government by hitting targets in Syria. “By striking facilities used by the militias just across the border in Syria, the risk of blowback against the Iraqi gov is reduced,” Ross tweeted.
The raid prompted remarkably limited reaction from Congress. Sen. Bernie Sanders said he was “concerned” that the attack would continue the “Forever War” in the Middle East, but there was no outburst of anger.