Bomber Biden targets Iraq and Syria

B1-B bombers like the ones used in the US bombing of Iraq and Syria (Picture: military.com)

US president Joe Biden has sent B-1B bombers to blast 85 targets in seven locations throughout Iraq and Syria.

The US did not forewarn the governments of Iraq and Syria on Friday, still less gain their approval. Even the US Congress did not authorise the assault.

Iraqi government spokesperson Bassem al-Awadi said the US raids hit locations in the Iraqi towns of Akashat and al-Qaim. These “included areas where our security forces are stationed” killing at least 16 people.

He went on, “The Americans are lying when they say they have coordinated their attacks with the Iraqi government. We reject using Iraq as a platform for score-settling.”

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported to AFP news agency that at least 18 people had been killed in eastern Syria

It was the first of what Biden said would be a series of retaliatory strikes for the drone attack on a base on the Jordan-Syrian border that killed three American military last month.

Those forces were there as part of US imperialist forces in the region, a presence that has increased after the Israeli attack on Gaza.

There are about 3,000 US troops based in Jordan, a key US ally, and 2,500 in Iraq. There are also about 900 US military in Syria, officially there to support its ally the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in the semi-autonomous north-east region.

The US also maintains many more bases across the Middle East, including three major air bases in the Gulf and a port in Bahrain which serves as the headquarters of the US Naval Forces Central Command and the US Fifth Fleet.

The US says Iran-backed militias were behind the killing of its soldiers in Jordan, Although Friday’s attacks did not hit Iran itself, that can’t be ruled out in the future. This would be a massive escalation.

“The beauty of the American bomber is we can strike anywhere in the world at a time of our choosing,” Pentagon spokesperson General Douglas Sims told reporters on Friday. 

The US invasions and raids have smashed societies and led to the deaths of millions across the Middle East in the last two decades. Biden will sacrifice thousands more lives to underline US power, particularly in an election year where he wants to “look tough”.

The British military will back them all the way. The millions who have protested for Palestine, and many more, need also to oppose Western imperialism.