Veterans on Duty welcomes the U.S. House overwhelmingly rejecting efforts to undermine America’s strategic position in the Middle East and to embolden Iran and ISIS. Our Military has learned hard lessons from Afghanistan and Iraq. Far from those experiences, the U.S. mission in Syria constitutes a small, sustainable, and successful presence working with reliable local partners and serving our national interests.
The U.S. State Department recently confirmed that “ISIS members in Syria continued to plot or inspire external terrorist operations.” Our limited presence in Syria is integral to ensuring the durable defeat of ISIS, serves as a check on Iranian aggression, and maintains an eye on Russian forces. A withdrawal from Syria could herald a return to the dark days of terrorists executing American hostages on video for the world to see.
The United States cannot allow our adversaries to fill a strategic vacuum. Democrats pushed for the 2011 withdrawal from Iraq, which allowed for the rise of ISIS. Ten years later, Democrats carried out the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. Today’s news that China has brokered a normalization deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia shows what happens when America disengages.
Conservatives should not be repeating these mistakes nor collaborating with “The Squad” to undermine American power and interests.