Why US Intensifies Its Military Presence in Southern Syria

The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the United States’ military build-up in Syria violates the norms of international law. 

Earlier, the US re-deployed HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems from a base in Jordan to a special forces base in al-Tanf in Syria. The Pentagon also deployed an additional military force to a town, 70 kilometers to the northeast of al-Tanf. 

"This is an active build-up of US military presence in the southern regions of sovereign Syria in violation of international law," Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova told reporters at a weekly press briefing.

In recent weeks, the region of al-Tanf has turned into a strategically important point where the interests of the US-led international coalition and Damascus’ allies clashed. 

The Syrian Army alongside its allies has been advancing to the east along the Damascus-Baghdad highway, a strategic route in southeast Syria. The highway is also of strategic interest for coalitions forces in the area of al-Tanf, where Syria borders Iraq and Jordan. The US also has a military base near al-Tanf where opposition forces have been trained. 

After the defeat of Daesh, the US military plans to take control over part of Syria’s territory, according to Andrei Koshkin, a military analyst and head of the Sociology and Political Science Department at the Russian Plekhanov Economic University.

"Apparently, now we can say that the so-called Islamic State [Daesh] is nearing its end. Raqqa and Mosul is yet to be liberated, but now it is already necessary to take control over the regions previously seized by militants. Possibly, the Pentagon wants to intensify its efforts at this crucial moment," Koshkin said in an interview with Radio Sputnik. 

The analyst drew a parallel with the actions of the US military during World War II. 

"At the time, the US delayed the opening of the second front. They opened it only when it was possible to divide the territory. Now, there is some kind of a similarity in Syria. The Pentagon is building up its presence, in order to divide the territory of sovereign Syria," Koshkin pointed out. 

According to him, the deployment of HIMARS rocket launchers in southern Syria proves that the US does not want the region to be returned under control of the Syrian government. 

"The HIMARS is a very powerful and efficient weapon, in terms of blanketing the enemy territory. It cannot be ruled out that the Pentagon will use it to prevent the Syrian Army from retaking control over the region," Koshkin suggested. 

In an earlier interview with Radio Sputnik, political analyst and expert on the Middle East Anatoly el-Murid suggested that the US was trying to designate the area the Pentagon wants to keep de facto under control.

"The Americans have long been training militants there, over a year and a half. Currently, this group controls a large strip of Syria’s border in the south. All the parties involved are now trying to take under control as many territories as possible," el-Murid said.