Ending the mystery surrounding a series of explosions in Iraq which were deemed unlikely to be coincidental, US officials are now confirming that these attacks were the result of Israeli airstrikes against them.



Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had already basically confirmed this, and now with the US adding to it,the questions become a lot more serious for Iraq, as far as what they are to do next.



The choices aren’t easy. Iraq has a marginal air defense system, so unlike Iran or Syria they have little chance of shooting down an attacking plane. Likewise, the Israeli planes are very similar to US planes already flying with impunity in Iraqi airspace, making positive identification harder.



The lack of clarity about whose planes are blowing what up in Iraq likely fueled calls from Iraq for the US to limit their operations in the country to those under control of Iraqi security forces. The US initially accepted this, but then later insisted that many of their missions wouldn’t apply.



Iraqi militias, which are the target of the Israelis, have since taken a few shots at spy aircraft near Baghdad, but their anti-aircraft guns probably aren’t really a match for multi-role combat aircraft.



Israel is spinning the militias as Iranian proxies, something the US has done in the past as well. For Iraq, however, the excuse really doesn’t matter, the problem is that once again regional and global powers are looking to use Iraq as a battleground.





Author: Jason Ditz Jason Ditz is news editor of Antiwar.com. View all posts by Jason Ditz