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"Israel" secretly coordinates with the US on many of the airstrikes it conducts in Syria, according to current and former US officials.

What was the US role in Syria?

Behind the curtains, current and former officials say that for several years, many Israeli missions have been reviewed in advance for approval by senior officials at US Central Command and the Pentagon.

This means that the formal coordination was previously unknown, and the secrecy surrounding it demonstrates how Washington has sought to support its Israeli ally.

The US review, according to the WSJ, mainly focuses on Israeli missions in eastern Syria that pass close to the US occupation's Al-Tanf base.

The vast majority of those Israeli airstrikes were authorized by the United States, but the officials claim the US military does not assist "Israel" in selecting its targets. The US does not review all Israeli operations in Syria they claimed. It is a “well-developed and deliberate process,” one former US official said. This cannot but mean that the operations they choose to review are targeted and singled out. 

Read next: The US, a bandit in Syria

“In northeast Syria and in the vicinity of al-Tanf, the US mission is solely securing the enduring defeat of ISIS, working with our local partners,” a US defense official claimed. “We won’t discuss the details of the steps we take to reduce the risk to our forces and to the mission.”

Read next: Al-Mayadeen sources: US Military base in Al-Tanf Targeted with Missiles

US direct intervention 

While the US has generally approved the strikes under review, current and former officials claim the US has occasionally asked "Israel" for changes.

The US urged "Israel" to pause its strikes at least twice in order to avoid complicating the battle space while the US military was engaged in "sensitive operations", they claimed.

However, US officials say that a portion of Israeli airstrikes don’t pass near Al-Tanf base and thus aren’t reviewed by the US, including the latest Israeli aggression on Damascus Airport. 

As per the WSJ report, the US military also doesn’t review Israeli airstrikes in Iraq, which "Israel" hasn’t officially confirmed, but US officials say have occurred.

Read next: Israeli occupation launches aggression on Damascus

What is the US doing in Syria?

Besides being an occupation that backs armed groups for its own operations and agenda in the region, the US occupation forces continue to steal Syrian oil by smuggling it from their bases in Syria to their bases in Iraq.

Convoys of tens of vehicles, including tankers loaded with stolen oil from oil fields occupied by US forces in Syria, are frequently seen crossing toward northern Iraq, in addition to trucks loaded with military equipment.

The US interference in the crisis-stricken Middle Eastern country continues to be exposed, from occupation to military agenda and the theft of oil.