Warnings

May 19 2017
Q: And lastly, you talk about deconfliction. Well, it didn't work yesterday or the day before when you called the Russians and said get those militias to stop and they did not. You had to strike them. GEN. DUNFORD: That's exactly right. And just to be clear, that was a force protection strike. Our commanders on the ground felt like they were threatened at that point. And their rules of engagement allow them to do that. We've gone back and -- and -- and had a conversation at every level now to ensure that those kinds of incidents don't take place again. Last night, I -- I made a commitment that they wouldn't happen again if our forces weren't threatened. And everybody understands what the rules are. So, that's what's going to prevent it in the future.

June 23 2017  
Q: But if I could just follow up, at this point now you've had several incidents. More directly, what potential threat do you believe these Iranian backed militias and regime forces continue to pose to your forces and your partner forces in the At Tanf -- Abu Kamal area? 
COL. DILLON: Well if the Syrian regime -- and it looks like they are making a concerted effort to move into ISIS held areas. And if they show that they can do that, that is not a bad sign. We are here to fight ISIS as a coalition, but if others want to fight ISIS and defeat them, then we absolutely have no problem with that. And as they move eastward toward Abu Kamal and to Deir Ezzour, if we -- as long as we can de-conflict and make sure that we can focus on what it is we're there to do, without having any kind of strategic mishaps with the regime or with pro-regime forces or with Russians, then that is -- we're perfectly happy with that.

Gli americani sono ad un bivio.
Impantanarsi in una guerra contro Assad o introdursi nel blocco sciita provocando le ire degli alleati curdi e arabi. Il gioco di alleanze di solito riesce bene in Iraq. In Siria, con la cenerentola russa a fare da ago della bilancia, la questione è più complessa.