There are currently 2,500 American troops in Iraq and another 900 in Syria. Their bases have come under repeated fire in both countries since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in Israel. According to Pentagon officials, Iranian-backed militias are to blame, and they expect more as fighting ramps up in Gaza and the West Bank. Adam Weinstein, a senior fellow on Middle East issues at the Quincy Institute and an Afghanistan War veteran, spoke with Dan and Kelley this week about how vulnerable these troops are today. He also talked about the risks of the war expanding to Lebanon and the possibility of Iran and neighboring Arab nations, along with the U.S., getting dragged into the conflagration.
In the first segment, Kelley and Dan talk about the reaction of the Global South and Arab state leaders to the events in Israel and how the international community seems to be fracturing, once again, against U.S. desires for consensus.
More from Adam Weinstein:
Iraq as it Is, with Steven Simon, Foreign Affairs, 9/27/23
‘The Return of the Taliban’ Makes Sense of Afghanistan’s Misery, Foreign Policy, 7/19/23
How to Withdraw From Iraq Within Five Years, with Steven Simon, Quincy Institute, 5/9/23
Adam Weinstein and the US Troops in Harm's Way in the Middle East