Alwaght- A week after a rocket attack on the US’s Ain Al-Assad airbase in Iraq that killed at least one American military personnel and inflicted damage on the installation’s infrastructure, the speculations keep actively streaming about what the US reactions would be.
The White House has so far, backed by a common and coordinated media propaganda, said that it is considering an appropriate response to the attackers.
On Friday, the US Secretary of State Llyod Austin, in an interview to ABC News threatened those behind the attack with reciprocal action “at a time and place of our own choosing."
"We want to make sure that, again, we understand who's responsible for this," Austin told the American broadcaster.
Pentagon Spokesman John Kirby in a similar stance tied any action to conclusion of an investigation by the Iraqi government.
“Let our Iraqi partners investigate this, see what they learn,” he said at a press briefing on March 3.
These comments by the US officials come as immediately after the attack, Washington and Western media pointed the fingers of blame at Iran, mainly in an effort to cover the vast challenges they are facing in Iraq amid Iraqi fury about the occupational military presence of the US in the Arab country and violation of the national sovereignty caused by defying the parliament’s bill to expel the foreign forces from Iraq.
The US officials argue that the attack requires an investigation to specify those behind the attack in a bid to mislead the public opinion both in Iraq and on the international stage on two important issues after the rocket strikes on the largest US military base in Iraq:
First, launching an investigation while the Iraqi anti-occupation groups claimed responsibility for the attacks on the US convoys, forces, and bases is a ridiculous move arranged by Washington to cover up the illegitimacy of its military presence in Iraq by linking the attack to Iran. They also try to conceal their destabilizing actions including their fresh plot to revive ISIS in Iraq and Syria to justify their stay. Actually, the main question is that why the White House always bombs the resistant groups that are spearheading the anti-ISIS battle on the Iraqi and Syrian borders.
Second, Washington seeks to skip a confrontation with Iraqi groups opposing its presence in their country. They officially declared war on the Americans in Iraq. These forces are powerful enough to challenge the US interests and send the White House officials into confusion of rushing to find a solution.
Contrary to their verbal threats in the past few days, the Americans are severely afraid of military confrontation with the resistant groups in Iraq. By urging a probe, they, in fact, want to escape a military encounter. Experience of years tells them that any attack would only trigger counterattacks from the Iraqi side with more severity.
Iraqi resistant groups have severely undermined US military prestige internationally, showing that Washington is unable to achieve its goals on Iraqi soil by relying on military might. The White House, meanwhile, is seeking to justify its defeat on the regional and international arenas by blaming Iran and threatening to take revenge in the future.
These misleading positions by American authorities are taken while Middle East Monitor news outlet recently reported that the Pentagon plans deployment of AN-TWQ-1 Avenger short-range air defense batteries to Syria and Iraq, meant to protect the US troops on the ground. The report continued, along with its FIM-92 Stinger missile launchers, the Avenger is designed for protecting infantry against low-flying aircraft, cruise missiles, helicopters, and drones.
This illegal dispatch proves that just contrary to its claims, Washington is scared of further waves of attacks in the future as it insists on its illegitimate stay on Iraqi soil.
