In the annals of military history there are many notable blunders, but Wednesday’s ill-fated attack by pro-regime forces against a heavily fortified headquarters for U.S.-backed anti-Islamic State fighters in eastern Syria ranks up there in the ranks of really bad ideas.
A battalion of about 300 troops, loyal to Bashar Assad, supported by artillery, tanks, multiple-launch rocket systems and mortars crossed a well-established deconfliction line and began shelling an area where U.S. special operations forces are advising units of the Syrian Democratic Forces in their final push to defeat ISIS in the Middle Euphrates River Valley.
The U.S. response was as quick as it was devastating.
American warplanes called in by the U.S. troops, pounded the advancing forces with punishing airstrikes, destroying two tanks, most of their artillery, killing at least 100 fighters, and forcing the rest to beat a hasty retreat.
On the other side, one SDF fighter was wounded, but there were no U.S. casualties.
Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon Thursday, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis called the whole episode “perplexing.”
“Why do I say it’s perplexing? I have no idea why they would attack there. The forces were known to be there. Obviously, the Russians knew,” Mattis said.
The U.S. used a deconflcition telephone line to warn the Russian that U.S. was about to hit the advancing force with airstrikes, and Russia assured there U.S. there were no Russians among the pro-regime forces.
At a Senate Armed Services hearing for Defense Department nominees Thursday, Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine questioned the authority of the U.S. carry out airstrikes against the Syrian government.
But Mattis said the U.S. response was justified because it was in self-defense, and the U.S. always has the authority to protect itself.
“We are not getting engaged in the Syrian civil war. We are there to fight ISIS, that’s what those troops were doing, coordinating strikes against ISIS,” Mattis said. “Why they chose to initiate this attack, you’ll have to ask them. We don’t know.”
