A few days ago, the US military launched an air strike in the early hours of the morning, which severely damaged pro-Iranian armed groups in Iraq. This move has attracted attention in the context of tensions between the United States and Iran, and for a while, there has been speculation about whether the United States has really moved this time. Personally, I believe that despite the large scale, it is still difficult to fundamentally contain the anti-US forces in Iraq in this air strike. At the same time, the blind use of force will also damage US-Iran relations and trigger more instability.
On December 25, Iraq's pro-Iranian armed group Allah Brigade launched a drone attack on a U.S. military base in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdistan region, injuring three U.S. troops. One of them was seriously injured.
According to reports, after the attack, the United States ** Biden quickly approved air strikes on Allah brigades and other targets in Iraq. In the early morning of the 26th, US warplanes launched strikes on the facilities of the Allah brigade in Babylon Province.
According to the US military, about 20 people in the Allah brigade were injured and at least one was killed in the airstrike. Compared with the previous air strikes against targets in Iraq, the scale has been significantly expanded, which shows that the US military has moved in earnest.
Not only that, but the White House also issued a statement after the airstrike, threatening that if anti-American attacks continued, the U.S. military would take further action to retaliate.
The scale of the airstrikes and the rhetoric of the White House show that the United States is determined to deal a powerful blow to anti-American groups in Iraq, and instead of responding by limiting counterattacks, it has chosen to take more aggressive actions.
To a certain extent, this also breaks the previous practice of counterattacks by the US military, and shows that the US tough attitude on the issue of counter-terrorism in the Middle East is reviving.
However, we must also be soberly aware that there are still many doubts about the actual effect of this air strike.
First of all, the **** of more than 20 people is just a drop in the bucket for organizations such as the large-scale Allah brigade. It is almost impossible to completely weaken their combat effectiveness.
Second, radical anti-American organizations have a stubborn will and abundant reserve forces. Simply air strikes will not solve the deep-seated problems that breed these groups, but may exacerbate tensions and trigger more attacks.
Moreover, there are a number of pro-Iranian militias in Iraq. It is difficult and unintentional for the U.S. military to launch strikes against all these organizations. If the root cause of the problem is not removed, the effect of air strikes is destined to be limited.
What is even more worrying is that the airstrike could further damage U.S.-Iran relations.
According to reports, the US military did not communicate with Iraq on the air strikes and unilaterally used force against targets in Iraq. This has aroused strong resentment on the part of Iraq.
Iraq** believes that the United States has flagrantly violated Iraq's sovereignty and caused damage to relations between the two countries. Given the already tense relationship between the United States and Iran, this will undoubtedly become a new bitter dispute between the two countries.
From this point of view, there are many uncertainties about the effectiveness and benefits of the US air strike. Blindly venting emotions will not achieve strategic goals, and may also incur strategic costs.
In dealing with anti-US organizations in the Middle East, the United States must properly handle the relationship between the use of force and diplomacy, and the two should complement each other rather than cancel each other.
The simple use of force not only does not solve the problem, but also easily leads to the opposite effect. And relying solely on diplomacy is not enough. What the United States should do now is to continue to promote the regional peace process while striking a limited blow, which is the real feasible way out.