Sputnik - The White House, responding to pressure from the Pentagon, is asking Congress to grant permission for the construction of more �temporary� US military bases in Iraq and Syria.





In what is seen as�a deepening of�the Pentagon's commitment to�waging war in�the devastated region, US Defense Secretary James Mattis has convinced the administration of�President Donald Trump to�seek permission from�Congress to�expand military operations into�Iraq and Syria, even as�Daesh is being destroyed and Mosul has been retaken.

The new "temporary facilities" will increase the likelihood of�a longer, more expensive and ultimately more deadly war in�a region that is suffering the most dire human rights crisis since�the end of�World War II.

Trump's White House issued a policy statement on�Tuesday suggesting that legal requirements currently in�place prevent the Pentagon from�expanding into�more of�Syria and Iraq, even as�costly base "repair and renovation" will also include "temporary intermediate staging facilities, ammunition supply points, and assembly areas that have adequate force protection."

These additional requirements to�cover the cost of�expanding the war in�Syria and Iraq will pay for "facilities, supply points, and assembly areas," according to�the White House statement, cited by�al-Monitor.

Tuesday's Statement of�Administration Policy from�the White House will see deliberations in�the US House of�Representatives on�Wednesday.
The Pentagon expansion would�allow US military assets in�the area to�reach out�and and attack�known remaining Daesh strongholds in�the region, according to�Corri Zoli, director of�research at�Syracuse University's Institute for�National Security and Counterterrorism, cited by�al-Monitor.


"It looks to�me like�what they're trying to�do is get a little more maneuverability to�create some infrastructure for�deepening the fight beyond�Raqqa and Syria," Zoli said.

"It's kind of�an attempt to�create a lily-pad structure in�the Levant to�go after [Daesh] and their entrepreneurial efforts to�start miniature caliphates in�the region," she added, according to�the al-Monitor report.

The request to�expand US military operations in�the area comes directly from�James Mattis, the current US Secretary of�Defense, who "is thinking a couple steps ahead. He wants to�win the peace, stabilize the region and militarily pressure Iran," according to�Zoli.

Many on�Capitol Hill, however, note that Mattis's tactics will draw the US deeper into�Syria's densely complicated civil war.

"The US is shooting down�Syrian warplanes and Iranian-made drones and launching cruise missile attacks. It opens the spigot for�them to�establish those kinds of�facilities and further entrench the US military presence in�Syria for�this unauthorized war," according to�Kate Gould, a lobbyist with�the Quaker group Friends Committee on�National Legislation, cited by�al-Monitor.