(Click on Image to Enlarge)
Henry Meyer and Nafeesa Syeed, Bloomberg: If Trump Wants to Fight Iran, He’ll Soon Get the Chance in Syria
* Forces backed by U.S., Iran in race to take Islamic State land
* ‘This is the most complicated battlespace anyone’s ever known’
Islamic State’s self-declared caliphate in eastern Syria is surrounded by some of the world’s strongest military powers. Their forces are advancing on several fronts. The battlefield odds aren’t even close.
That’s why the commanders of those armies -- in Washington, Moscow and Tehran, as well as Damascus and Ankara -- are looking beyond the coming showdown with the jihadists. When they’re killed or driven out, who’ll take over? It’s an especially sharp dilemma for President Donald Trump. Because for the second time this century, the U.S. risks defeating one Middle Eastern enemy only to see another one, Iran, emerge as the big winner.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: My read is different .... President Trump is more focused on destroying the Islamic State using the Kurds as its proxies .... not going to war against Iranian backed forces. The question should be .... does Iran want to fight the U.S., and will they do it in Syria. The Iranians could do so in Iraq right now .... they have more than enough forces to give U.S. forces in Iraq a lot of grief (and vice versa). But I think there is a general agreement among all parties that the priority is to get rid of the Islamic State first .... and deal with the outcome later. As to what will that outcome be and how it will play out .... from my perspective that is still up in the air.