What can a remote outpost tell us about how the U.S. got pulled so deep into Syria’s war? The answer might be easiest to understand if we start out small. In March of 2016 — a series of victories in a desolate patch of the Syrian desert. A band of rebels captures a border crossing. And then they move and capture a rectangular compound that’s been in the hands of the Islamic State. Now, like a lot of forces in Syria, big and small, these guys want to be known. They’d sent out promotional videos. They’d made the TV news. They’d even made a YouTube page, and asked visitors to subscribe, to follow along while they go fight ISIS. But all these videos, they tell us something else. American weapon. American weapon. American weapon. And all this propaganda? Behind the scenes are coalition advisers. They’re coaching the rebels with how to introduce themselves to the world. They’re backing the rebels because, at the time, this was part of America’s big plan for defeating the Islamic State in Syria: Train and equip local rebels to do the fighting. “We will advise, and we will assist.” These rebels are called the New Syrian Army. And that compound they captured? That rectangle in the desert? It turned into a small military base called Al-Tanf. That’s far away from all other U.S. and coalition bases in Syria. In the years to come, the base will be attacked by ISIS, threatened by Iranian proxies and become the subject of Russian conspiracy theories. This base will illustrate how it can be easy to get involved in a war — “This is a transnational long-term threat.” — but much harder to get out of one. “Senator, that would have to be provided in a different setting.” “Wait a minute.” “Why can’t you — “ “Wait. Wait a minute.” How the mission can change in unexpected ways. But the original mission, of course, was to defeat the Islamic State. The choice of Al-Tanf as a base was a good one. Right off the bat, the rebels build a couple walls. And this gives them control of a major road. That lets them disrupt the Islamic State’s ability to move between Syria and Iraq, and to stop them from entering Jordan, which is an important American ally. But the rebels’ main objective is to use Al-Tanf as a staging ground to seize the region back from ISIS. In their first year, the rebels have some failures — — and they have some successes. American and coalition soldiers are there with them doing the training. The rebels managed to recapture a good amount of land, along with other rebel groups in the area. That’s seen in blue. But here’s where Al-Tanf is forced to take on an entirely new, entirely unexpected role, an example of America’s expanding mission in Syria — Iran. See, when the American-backed rebels capture land from ISIS — remember, that was their original mission — they’re also capturing land that President Bashar al-Assad wants back, after losing it earlier in the civil war that began in 2011. So the regime’s coming after them, like it or not. Iran’s been supporting the regime, and has its own reasons for wanting control of this rebel area. See this road that Al-Tanf’s on? It leads all the way to Iran. Iran wants to be the dominant player in the region. Do you think it wants a little U.S. base blocking a valuable supply route that carries Iranian influence and materiel all the way to the Mediterranean? No. So in the spring of 2017, the Syrian army and Iranian-backed militias decide to take the region back with an offensive. Their objective is to reach the Jordanian and Iraqi borders. In the way is Al-Tanf. And by this time, the U.S. has established a protective circle around the base that’s called a deconfliction zone. Basically, it means cross into that circle uninvited and you risk an American attack. But the pro-regime forces advance anyway. The Americans strike, saying it’s in self-defense. [explosion] These videos claim to show the strikes on pro-regime forces. [Arabic shouting, in reaction to blast] Then the Americans drop leaflets warning the oncoming forces to stay away from the deconfliction zone. But they keep coming. [explosion] And the U.S. keeps striking. And here’s where our story comes to a pivotal moment that shows just how messy it can be when you get involved in a civil war. The U.S. told the world that it was in Syria to fight the Islamic State. “Tonight, on my orders, America’s armed forces began strikes against ISIL targets in Syria.” And now, it’s attacking Syrians and Iranian proxies. “It was necessitated by offensive movement — I don’t know there were Iranians on the ground — but by Iranian-directed forces.” So now we get more American hardware coming in. Meanwhile, the base that looked like this when the rebels took over has now grown to look like this. But if Iran has become a factor in the U.S. mission in Syria, here’s an example of how the government doesn’t want to publicly admit that this has expanded the mission. So let’s head to Washington for a second. Don’t click away. I know congressional hearings aren’t always a thrill a minute, but this one — “— stand.” — gets interesting. “So let me — so what is the — “ A senator asks a high-ranking State Department official what U.S. troops will do in Syria once ISIS is defeated — “ — non-ISIS priorities.” — but question seems to strike a nerve. “Senator, that would have to be provided in a different setting.” He doesn’t want to say that Iran’s part of the Syrian strategy now. “Um.” “Why not?” “Wait a minute.” “Why can’t you — “ “Wait. Wait a minute. That won’t pass muster.” So he relents, just a bit. “We are deeply concerned with the activities of Iran, with the ability of Iran to enhance those activities through a greater ability to move materiel into Syria. And I would rather leave the discussion at that point.” The Iranian threat came just up the road from Al-Tanf. But America’s mission in Syria is also growing beyond ISIS because of what lies just 12 miles to the south — “Trapped in a no man’s land, but still the numbers grow.” — the lives of 50,000 refugees. 50,000. They live in a camp called Rukban. Many of them have fled the Syrian regime and the Islamic State. The camp is so close to Al-Tanf that it’s protected by the base’s deconfliction zone. “And we’re going to be present at Al-Tanf to make sure ISIS cannot return and also to manage this difficult humanitarian situation.” Hear that? Yet another reason to stay in Syria — protect the refugees. But these refugees serve another purpose — [Russian speech] — as props for Russian misinformation. See, Russia’s got bases in Syria, too. It wants to secure its own influence in the region. But the American presence in Syria, including at Al-Tanf, is getting in the way. So the Russians try to make the Americans and rebels at Al-Tanf look so bad that they’ll be forced to give it up. [Russian speech] They often claim that the Americans and rebels at Al-Tanf block aid shipments to the Rukban refugees, creating a humanitarian crisis. But the internet is also full of conspiracy theories about the base. Some seem to have been influenced by Russia’s statements. Take Al-Tanf’s Wikipedia page. The original entry smears the Al-Tanf rebels by calling them armed gangs and militants that are training terrorists, who the U.S. helps transport. The user who wrote all this has uploaded photos elsewhere that show a Russia connection. How? Well, one, they show a city Russian advisers were in at the time. Two, the file names are all in Russian. And, three, one is taken from the inside of a Russian military vehicle, like the one seen here elsewhere in Syria. Al-Tanf is just one example of how Russia’s presence in Syria has contributed to yet another reason the U.S. mission has expanded — preventing unchecked Russian influence. After more recent Russian threats, the U.S. sends Marines to Al-Tanf as a show of force. [gunfire] The base that looked like this after those airstrikes against pro-regime forces, has grown even bigger. And soon after, a top general arrives, stressing America’s support for the base. Construction on a new expansion begins three weeks later. “I don’t want to be in Syria forever. It’s sand. And it’s death.” President Trump reverses course, and orders a troop pullout from Syria. But there’s an ongoing debate in the government about whether to make Al-Tanf the exception, to keep troops there even after all other U.S. troops in the country have left. Will the base’s story end with the rebels and refugees left to fend for themselves, or will the U.S. decide to stay put to counter its rivals and small pockets of ISIS in a mission that has no end in sight? Whatever happens, remember: This is all taking place in just one small, remote corner of Syria, a country that’s in conflict from end to end. So 23 seconds into this video, I mentioned a border crossing, the one the rebels use to cross into Syria. Turns out, the Syrian civil war isn’t the only time conflict touched this crossing. I found these images from the Iraq war from 2007. These are refugees flooding the Al-Tanf crossing, trying to get out of Iraq. Back then, Syria was far safer.