Ian J. McCary, the US deputy special envoy to Syria, stated on June 3 that “the purpose of the international force in Syria and Iraq is going to shift significantly since ISIS has been virtually crushed… The forces will now focus on humanitarian rehabilitation work, particularly regarding the al-Hawl refugee camp in northern Kurdish-controlled Syria”.
Is the above comment, among other things, a foreshadowing of what is to come in terms of the American presence in al-Tanf (Southeastern Syria), the primary goal of which was to defeat ISIS in this area?
The American presence in al-Tanf today, along with the opposition forces they support (Maghawir al-Thawra), severely limits Iranian activity in the land corridor and, as an operational constraint, redirects them to one central geographical area in the Albukamal area – Deir ez-Zor.
The Americans at al-Tanf obstruct the Iranians’ possible short, rapid route into Syria and Lebanon. The crossing in the al-Tanf area, also known as the Al-Waleed crossing in Iraq, is the shortest and fastest land territorial contiguity from Iran to Iraq, then to Syria, and finally to Lebanon – Hezbollah.