US CJCS uses alleged ISIS threat to justify US occupation of Syria

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Reuters
4 Mar 23:56
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The remarks were delivered by Milley who had recently completed an unannounced visit to US occupation forces stationed in the northeast of Syria.

US Army General Mark Milley. (AP)

Reuters reported on Saturday that the United States Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, concluded that the US occupation of Syria is still "worth the risk".

The remarks were delivered by Milley who had recently completed an unannounced visit to US occupation forces stationed in the northeast of Syria.

Army General Milley said he flew to Syria in order to review efforts mobilized in preventing a claimed possible resurgence of ISIS and assess safeguards for US occupation troops stationed in Syria, including Iranian-made drones.

When asked whether the alleged mission to combat ISIS in Syria was still worth the risk, Milley said "If you think that [US and allies' security] is important, then the answer is 'Yes,'" adding, "I think that an enduring defeat of ISIS and continuing to support our friends and allies in the region ... I think those are important tasks that can be done."

The General further made mention of an alleged Iranian-made drone that flew over Syria in a bid to conduct a reconnaissance operation on one of the US' occupation bases.

In January of this year, three drones targeted a US occupation base in Syria's Al-Tanf region. The US military said it shot down two of the drones and the remaining resulted in injuring two pro-US Syrian militants.

US Army Major General McFarlane has called the alleged Iran attack a "distraction from our main mission," adding that "Our number one priority is the enduring defeat of ISIS. And we are making progress."

The US has for long employed the alleged "ISIS threat" as a pretext to continue its illegal occupation of northeastern Syrian territories.

It has done so for two reasons: to destabilize the Syrian government and to pursue the systematic looting of the country's oil resources.

Even after the February 6 earthquake devastated several cities across the coutry, the US continues to loot oil from occupied Syrian territories.

Earlier in the day, Syrian news agency SANA reported that US occupation troops have looted a new batch of oil from Syria's al-Jazeera fields.

The convoy is on its way to reach US military bases in Iraq via the illegal al-Mahmudiya crossing in the al-Yarubiya region.

According to civilian sources, the convoy is made of 23 vehicles and includes covered trucks and tanks filled with stolen oil.

The sources further added that an additional convoy made up of 34 trucks exited the illegal al-Walid crossing in al-Yarubiya.

The last time US troops plundered Syrian oil was on February 27th. The oil was looted from the same al-Jazeera fields and was transported to Iraq via illegal crossings.