Military strikes risk escalation to a broader regional war that would harm U.S. interests

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
December 29, 2019
Contact: press@defensepriorities.org

WASHINGTON, DC—Today, The Wall Street Journal reported the U.S. military launched retaliatory airstrikes on a Shia militia group in Iraq and Syria blamed for a missile attack on a military base in Kirkuk. Defense Priorities Policy Director Benjamin H. Friedman issued the following statement in response:

“It’s a tragedy the life of a U.S. contractor was lost in a missile attack on Friday, but retaliatory strikes risk escalation to a broader regional war that would harm U.S. interests.

“The U.S. has no good reason to remain militarily involved in a region of diminishing strategic importance. Keeping large numbers of U.S. forces in the Middle East leaves them vulnerable to attacks from countries and groups who could not otherwise threaten them. There is no justifying rationale for such a risk.

“The Iraq War—like the Afghanistan War, intervention in Syria, and U.S. military support for the war in Yemen—should have long ago ended. Iran is a middling power easily checked by its neighbors. No amount of U.S. forces can solve the Middle East’s political problems, which are the root of the violence and turmoil there.

“The U.S. should stay vigilant to contain the anti-U.S. threats that emanate from the Middle East, but it should extricate itself from its internal struggles.

“Open-ended occupations of Middle Eastern countries weaken the United States and have not made us safer. They should end.”