Senate votes to keep US troops in Syria amid Iran-backed attacks

WASHINGTON ― The Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly voted down a bill 13-84 that would have required President Joe Biden to withdraw the roughly 900 troops stationed in Syria.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., secured a vote on the bill after an onslaught of attacks from Iran-backed proxies in recent months targeting U.S. forces in the war-torn country. These militias have launched at least 76 attacks on U.S. forces in both Syria and Iraq since Oct. 7, which marked the start of Israel’s ongoing bombardment of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip following Hamas’ massacre of Israelis.

“It seems to me, though our 900 troops have no viable mission in Syria, that they’re sitting ducks,” Paul said on the Senate floor ahead of the vote. “They’re a tripwire to a larger war, and without a clear-cut mission, I don’t think they can adequately defend themselves, yet they remain in Syria.”

“Our troops in Syria regularly come under attack, not from ISIS but from Iranian-backed militias,” he added, using an acronym for the Islamic State group.

The Biden administration carried out retaliatory airstrikes on Iran-backed militias in Syria in response to the attacks, including strikes on weapons, ammunition, storage and training facilities.

Further compounding matters, Turkey bombarded U.S.-backed Kurdish forces in northeast Syria in September after a group linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, attacked the Interior Ministry in Ankara.

“We also had American troops take fire from our own NATO ally Turkey,” Paul said. “Just this past September, we returned the favor by shooting down an armed Turkish drone that came within 500 yards of U.S. forces.”

But the overwhelming majority of Republicans and Democrats sided with the Biden administration and opted to vote in favor of keeping the 900 troops in Syria.

“Passage of such a resolution would be a gift to Iran and its terrorist network,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said ahead of the vote. “Driving American troops from the Middle East is exactly what they’d like to see.”

“It would encourage Iran’s proxies to open a northern front in the territorial war against Israel,” he added, referring to the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Mike McCaul, R-Texas, told reporters in October that he is drafting a military authorization for the Biden administration to strike Iran-backed proxy forces throughout the Middle East, which he would mark up if the Israel-Hamas war escalates into a broader regional conflict.

The United States stationed troops in Syria in 2014 as part of its campaign to topple the ISIS caliphate, citing as legal justification the 2001 military authorization Congress passed in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to target al-Qaida in Afghanistan. Four presidents have used the 2001 military authorization to justify more than 40 military operations in at least 19 countries across the globe, including in Syria and Iraq.

Paul’s resolution, which the Senate voted down, stated the 2001 military authorization does not apply to Syria. He made a similar argument in a separate resolution to withdraw the roughly 1,100 U.S. troops stationed in Niger . The Senate also voted down that resolution 11-86 in October.

The House in March also voted to keep U.S. troops in Syria, voting down 103-321 a similar withdrawal resolution from Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla .

Bryant Harris is the Congress reporter for Defense News. He has covered U.S. foreign policy, national security, international affairs and politics in Washington since 2014. He has also written for Foreign Policy, Al-Monitor, Al Jazeera English and IPS News.

华盛顿——周四，参议院以13比84的压倒性多数否决了一项法案，该法案要求总统乔·拜登撤出驻扎在叙利亚的约900名士兵。

在伊朗支持的代理人近几个月来对驻扎在饱受战火蹂躏的叙利亚的美军发动了一系列袭击后，肯塔基州共和党参议员兰德·保罗成功推动了该法案的投票。自10月7日以来，这些民兵组织已在叙利亚和伊拉克对美军发动了至少76次袭击。10月7日标志着以色列开始对加沙地带的巴勒斯坦人进行持续轰炸，此前哈马斯对以色列人进行了屠杀。

“在我看来，尽管我们在叙利亚的900名士兵没有切实可行的任务，他们却成了待宰的羔羊，”保罗在参议院投票前说道。“他们是引发更大规模战争的导火索，而且由于没有明确的任务，我认为他们无法有效地保护自己，但他们仍然留在叙利亚。”

“我们在叙利亚的部队经常遭到袭击，但袭击者不是ISIS，而是伊朗支持的民兵，”他补充道，这里他使用了“伊斯兰国”的缩写。

为回应这些袭击，拜登政府对叙利亚境内伊朗支持的民兵组织发动了报复性空袭，包括打击武器、弹药、储存和训练设施。

雪上加霜的是，9 月，在与库尔德工人党（PKK）有关联的一个组织袭击了安卡拉内政部之后，土耳其炮击了美国支持的叙利亚东北部的库尔德武装。

保罗说：“我们的美军也曾遭到北约盟国土耳其的炮火袭击。就在去年九月，我们以牙还牙，击落了一架接近美军500码的土耳其武装无人机。”

但绝大多数共和党人和民主党人都站在拜登政府一边，投票赞成在叙利亚保留 900 名士兵。

“通过这项决议无异于送给伊朗及其恐怖网络一份大礼，”参议院少数党领袖、肯塔基州共和党参议员米奇·麦康奈尔在投票前表示。“把美军赶出中东正是他们所希望看到的。”

“这将鼓励伊朗的代理人在对以色列的领土战争中开辟北方战线，”他补充道，这里指的是伊朗支持的武装组织真主党。

众议院外交事务委员会主席、德克萨斯州共和党众议员迈克·麦考尔 (Mike McCaul) 于 10 月告诉记者，他正在起草一份军事授权书，供拜登政府打击伊朗支持的中东代理人武装。如果以色列与哈马斯之间的战争升级为更广泛的地区冲突，他将对这份授权书进行修订。

2014年，美国向叙利亚驻军，作为其推翻“伊斯兰国”哈里发政权行动的一部分。美国援引2001年国会在9·11事件后通过的军事授权法案作为法律依据，该法案旨在打击阿富汗境内的基地组织。此后，四位美国总统都曾援引2001年的军事授权法案，在全球至少19个国家开展了超过40次军事行动，其中包括在叙利亚和伊拉克的行动。

保罗提出的决议案被参议院否决，该决议案指出2001年的军事授权不适用于叙利亚。他在另一项决议案中也提出了类似的论点，要求撤出驻扎在尼日尔的约1100名美军。参议院也在10月份以11比86的投票结果否决了该决议案。

今年 3 月，众议院也投票决定让美军继续驻扎在叙利亚，以 103 比 321 的投票结果否决了佛罗里达州共和党众议员马特·盖茨提出的类似撤军决议。

布莱恩特·哈里斯是《防务新闻》的国会记者。自2014年以来，他一直在华盛顿报道美国外交政策、国家安全、国际事务和政治。他还曾为《外交政策》、《Al-Monitor》、《半岛电视台英语频道》和IPS新闻撰稿。