The Lebanese group Hezbollah, the same group that defeated Israel in the 2006 war, threatened to attack U.S. forces if we keep attacking the Assad regime.

A #Hezbollah commander: “Our people are gathering in the #Tanf area right now, so a clash is definitely coming.”https://t.co/fYmq6FIoWB — Abdulrahman al-Masri (@AbdulrhmanMasri) June 7, 2017

The reason for the threat is because we twice bombed and killed pro-Syrian troops who never once had fired on us.



Both of the opposition groups being trained by coalition forces there have been involved in insurgent operations in the past, making the base an even more appealing target for pro-regime forces.

Yeh, you could see why the pro-regime forces are near the staging area of anti-regime forces. What is interesting is what happened immediately after we routed the pro-regime forces and our rebel jihadists surrogates were in pursuit.



Last week, the US-backed Syrian groups attacked the Shiite militias that had moved south along the highway toward Tanf. Although the Iran-backed militiamen retreated to their staging post at the Zaza checkpoint junction 50 miles north of Tanf, the US-supported forces also were forced to pull back when they were attacked by Russian aircraft.

The potential stakes in the standoff at Tanf are huge.

Meanwhile on the opposite side of Syria.

The military commander of HamzaDivision (trained by US) killed in clashes against #Assad forces around Bazaa by #Albab. #A24 — Aleppo24 (@24Aleppo) June 6, 2017

One might be incline to think we were trying to overthrow the Syrian government.

Why, oh why are we risking so much for a patch of nearly uninhabited desert?

To answer that question I will refer to former Secretary of State John Kerry.

As for al-Tanf, those are American soldiers at the base, who's costs may or may not be reimbursed by Gulf nation monarchs. But those aren't the only Americans in Syria.



Over the summer, a no-bid contract was reportedly awarded to Six3 Intelligence Solutions, a company based in McLean, Va., which in 2014 was acquired by major defense-industry player CACI International. The $10 million award, according to an otherwise pedestrian Pentagon notice, was for “intelligence analysis services” to be performed “in Germany, Italy, and Syria.” It was probably the first sliver of proof that U.S. contractors are actually operating there, despite persistent evasions by military officials.

“I don’t know if there are any contractors in Syria but I suspect there are a lot. We just can’t sustain military operations today without the private sector. We are strategically dependent on the private sector,” said author Sean McFate, also an Army special-forces veteran and assistant professor at the National Defense University.

There are roughly three mercs for every U.S. troop in Afghanistan.



In Iraq today, 7,773 contractors support U.S. government operations — and 4,087 U.S. troops. These numbers do not include contractors supporting CIA or other intelligence community activities, either abroad or in the United States. On April 5, Adm. Michael Rogers, commander of the U.S. Cyber Command, declared during a Senate hearing that contractors made up 25 percent of his workforce.

The U.S. deployed 13,774 mercs in “other CENTCOM locations” outside of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Remember, mercs don't count as "boots on the ground".

We NO national interests in that remote Syrian desert. None! Zip. Nada.

But wealthy Gulf oil sheiks do, and they are willing to pay for American soldiers to die for their political cause.

How much? About $1,500 per day.

The KSA and UAE have been using America's private, mercenary armies to fight their war in Yemen.



The mercenaries are from outfits like Academi (formerly Blackwater), R2 (Reflex Responses), Dyncorps, and a secretive company called Vinell Corporation that was bought by Northrup Grumman. The Saudis, because Yemen is next door, have been running the war. The UAE has been doing most of the hiring, with the bill now in the tens of billions of dollars.

The "Saudi army" is even more pathetic.



The Saudi military is almost entirely staffed by mercenaries. The Saudi jets bombing an air defenseless Yemen are piloted by Pakistanis. Its mid and low level officers are mainly from Jordan and most ominously for its ability to actually launch a ground invasion, its rank and file soldiers are almost entirely from Yemen.



The Saudis have a long relationship with American mercs.

The infamous Saudi Arabian National Guard was originally trained by Vinnell Corporation, an American defense contractor, in 1975. Vinnell is now owned by Northrop Grumman.

Blackwater merc pilots are also bombing Libya for the UAE.

Now the Iraqi government, of all people, have hired American mercs.



“The provincial government and the central government have contracted with [private] security police to secure the international road and control it,” said Faleh Al-Issawi, vice-president of the Anbar provincial council.

“The American company will begin its functions on July 15 in accordance with our contract,” he added.

Iraq should know better.