The U.S. military has no orders to do anything specific to counter Iran in Syria, but its mere presence will have an indirect deterrence effect, the top U.S. commander for the region said Thursday.
“While we don’t have any direct military tasks that have been given to us in terms of that, we do recognize that our presence on the ground, the development of good partners on he ground, does have an impact on Iranian activities,” said Gen. Joseph Votel, head of the U.S. Central Command, in a video briefing for reporters at the Pentagon. “In many ways, one of the most important things we do to counter Iranian influence is build very strong relationships in the region.”
Votel said there are no plans for the U.S. to withdraw from Syria once the last of the Islamic State-held territory is liberated, because of the need to build up local security forces to prevent a resurgence of the terrorist group.
“As our partners on the ground in Syria complete their operations against the physical caliphate … we’ll have to move from what I would describe as major combat operations to something that is akin to wide area security,” Votel said, indicating that the U.S. is not going anywhere anytime soon.
But Votel emphasized that as the U.S. mission changes from backing local forces on the offensive to helping establish security in liberated areas, there will be an opportunity to withdraw some combat capability.
“Along the way we will make the appropriate assessment on the forces that we need,” Votel said. “What I would tell you is that we will not keep unnecessary things on the ground.”
The U.S. expects that once the current offensive is over and the Islamic State controls no more territory, the group will “go to ground” and become an insurgent group that will still pose a threat, and that the U.S. focus will be ensuring it has capabilities in place to make sure it doesn’t rise again.
Nevertheless, Votel said, the U.S. is ready to respond “rapidly and massively” to any military threat from Iran, while insisting that does not mean the U.S. in spoiling for a fight.
“I don’t think we’re seeking to go to war with Iran,” he said. “I think the president has made it clear that Iran needs to cease its destabilizing behavior and policies that spread violence and human misery throughout the Middle East.”
