U.S. forces just destroyed a handful of Assad regime and Iranian-backed foreign Shia military vehicles after the convoy ignored warnings upon entering a 34-mile de-confliction zone around a base in al-Tanf established in coordination with Russia under the Obama administration. U.S. Special Operations troops at al-Tanf are training moderate rebels (“vetted Syrian opposition forces” in Pentagon-speak) and embedded with them as they fight the jihadists of the Islamic State (ISIS). Assad regime forces have steadily advanced towards U.S.-backed rebel positions in the area over the past few weeks as part of the scramble to grab territory from ISIS’s collapsing pseudo-Caliphate.

Far from being an act of aggression, this strike is a case of self-defense on the part of U.S. forces but get ready for a hue and cry from ‘anti-war’ forces in the West who never protest U.S. military action against ISIS in Syria and always protest U.S. military action against Assad and his allies.