Nadene Goldfoot
President Trump has just stated that he's withdrawing more troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan because of his pledge to do so when he ran for office. At this point, he may be only a 4 yr president, so is trying to do as he promised his constituents before January 20, 2021. Being Iran has so many terrorist groups that they are financing in the Middle East, what chances will this give to Iran to do harm to the USA and Israel?
As of July 8, 2019, "The United States has approximately 14,000 troops in Afghanistan engaged in two missions: 1) a bilateral counterterrorism mission in cooperation with Afghan forces; and 2) participation in RSM. U.S. troops in Afghanistan serve alongside almost 8,000 troops from NATO allies and partners. U.S. forces continue to disrupt and degrade the Taliban’s combat operations, ISIS-K, and al-Qaeda activities in Afghanistan, through partnered operations with Afghan forces, as well as unilateral operations. The United States is committed to maintaining military pressure on the Taliban to reverse their battlefield gains and provide leverage at the negotiating table. Additionally, combatting ISIS-K and the remnants of al-Qaeda continues to be a priority for the United States.
The Rand Corporation had this to say about Iran and Afghanistan in 2014: "The U.S. drawdown from Afghanistan may lead to greater instability and a vacuum in that country. The Islamic Republic of Iran, one the most powerful regional actors in Afghanistan, is poised to exercise substantial influence there after the U.S. drawdown. In addition, the drawdown may provide Iran with the opportunity to strengthen ties with other powers involved in Afghanistan, such as India and Russia. Greater Iranian influence in Afghanistan could help Iran alleviate economic and political pressures resulting from its nuclear dispute."
The warning for this had already happened in July 8th 2020 issue in Foreign Affairs, WHAT IRAN WANTS IN AFGHANISTAN. "U.S. President Donald Trump is eager to leave Afghanistan after nearly two decades and plans to review several options for drawing down troop levels, something that could easily happen by the end of the year".
Evidently hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees have been living in Iran. Thousands have been leaving because of Iran's financial situation. They had gone there for jobs, but their jobs are now drying up.
The Times of Israel has also written about the pull-out of US troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. "The talks between the pair came with attacks on American targets by pro-Iranian fighters on the rise and the Iraqi government facing calls to expel the roughly 5,000 US troops deployed in the country as part of anti-jihadist efforts."
Afghanistan has 8,600 troops. "The Pentagon said in August that its goal was to get down to fewer than 5,000 troops as inter-Afghan peace talks progress. Trump previously mentioned in an interview with Axios that the White House aimed to reach 4,000 to 5,000 troops in Afghanistan by the November presidential election. Trump has previously promised to bring troops home in a bid to end what he has called America’s endless wars.
Last year, "Turkey launched its assault on Wednesday against the YPG militia in Syria, just days after Trump pulled a U.S. contingent out the way."U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to stand aside as Turkey sends troops into Syria and fights Kurds allied with Washington has some Israelis wondering whether they too might eventually pay a price for his impatience with Middle East engagements." I'm sure Israel will be prepared for this eventuality which is now approaching of maybe half the troops leaving Iraq and Afghanistan and what can happen. The Kurds had been friends of Israel, and their closest relations as DNA shows.
Iraq and Afghanistan's terrorists are very anti-Semitic. "Bin Laden then called for attacks worldwide and
demanded that Muslims “support their brothers in Palestine by fighting the Jews and the
Americans... not in America and occupied Palestine and Afghanistan alone, but all over the world….
take it to all the American, Jewish, and Western interests in the world.”
Such violent expressions of anti-Semitism have been at the core of Al Qaeda’s belief system. " They are not too far away to cause harm.
Resource:
https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR600/RR616/RAND_RR616.pdf.
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/afghanistan/2020-07-08/what-iran-wants-afghanistan
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-security-israel-kurds/israel-uneasy-over-trumps-refusal-to-stand-by-kurds-idUSKBN1WP2KP
https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/syria/.premium.MAGAZINE-israel-and-the-kurds-an-unlikely-and-unofficial-relationship-1.8234659
https://www.state.gov/u-s-relations-with-afghanistan/
No comments:
Post a Comment