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Protecting American Soldiers from Iran's Militias
(Wall Street Journal) Editorial - Militias backed by Iran carried out a drone attack on a U.S. base in northeast Syria on Thursday, killing an American contractor and wounding five service members and another contractor. The U.S. retaliated by bombing sites used by groups affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps. But the discrete reprisal didn't seem to deter the militias. Hours later they fired 10 rockets at a second U.S. base in eastern Syria. The big picture here is that Iran and other adversaries are concluding that the U.S. wants out of the Middle East, and they are willing to spur the exit by inflicting casualties. The U.S. has 900 men and women in Syria and another 2,500 or so in Iraq. They're fulfilling a vital role in preventing Islamic State rebels from reviving their caliphate in Syria. Iran, which wants to run Syria as a protectorate, would love to push the U.S. out of both countries. Its militias would then challenge the Iraqi army for domination in Iraq, and its client government in Damascus would consolidate control and threaten Israel. Protecting America's soldiers and citizens means putting fear in the minds of our enemies that if they attack Americans, they will be met with a withering and deadly response.