Surgical operations or a declaration of war? Baghdad is trying to mitigate the American response aft

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[size=52]Surgical operations or a declaration of war? Baghdad is trying to mitigate the American response after the bombing of Al-Tanf[/size]

[size=45]Baghdad/ Tamim Al-Hassan[/size]
[size=45]The news of stopping flights at Baghdad airport on Monday evening, for several hours, was strange, especially since it came at an unprecedented moment of escalation between the American forces and the factions following the Al-Tanf base incident.
Some information indicated that the reason for stopping flights was not due to maintenance, according to the official version, but rather was due to the visit of senior American officials to Baghdad.[/size]
[size=45]These developments coincided with the presence of senior Iranian security officials in Iraq, a day after the launch of the Iraqi-American dialogue to regulate the presence of the international coalition in the country.[/size]
[size=45]During the last 48 hours, Baghdad issued two statements, confirming its rejection of escalation in the region, and an attempt to mitigate the expected American response. The issue of the American response raises great concern in Iraq, which led to the closure of the PMF headquarters, according to a document leaked to the media the day before yesterday, and the PMF has not yet commented on the authenticity of that document.[/size]
[size=45]There are conflicting information and expectations about the strength, place and time of the US strike that US President Joe Biden promised.[/size]
[size=45]The US Department of Defense (the Pentagon) held the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades responsible for the attack that targeted an American military base in Jordan, calling it an “escalation.”[/size]
[size=45]The so-called “Islamic Resistance in Iraq” announced that it carried out “drone” attacks at dawn on Sunday, targeting three bases in Syrian territory, including the Al-Tanf and Rukban bases, which are close to the border with Jordan.[/size]
[size=45]Washington said that the attack killed three soldiers and wounded more than forty others. The attack targeted “Burj 22” in northeastern Jordan, which is a logistics base located opposite the Syrian Rukban region. Information was leaked on the second night after the attack, about Iraqi contacts with Washington to prevent the expansion of the crisis and mitigate the expected American strike. Among these leaks is what revolved around the reasons for the sudden halt of flights at Baghdad Airport, which is due to the repair of one of the runways, which required work on it until 10 pm the day before yesterday, according to a statement issued by the airport.[/size]
[size=45]But the leaks that reached Al-Mada said that officials from the US State Department held a quick meeting at the airport and then left, while the Iraqi party that met with the American officials was not revealed. In the Baghdad government's second response to what happened near the Jordanian border within two days, the Foreign Ministry said that it was "concerned about the recent security developments taking place in the region."[/size]
[size=45]In a statement, the Ministry called for “the importance of reducing regional escalation in light of the current critical circumstances and the necessity of strengthening joint international efforts to achieve stability.”[/size]
[size=45]The government had denounced, in a previous statement, the bombing of the American base, and said that these developments threaten “regional and international peace and security.” In addition, Ihsan Al-Shammari, professor of public policy at the University of Baghdad, told Al-Mada that after the war authorization used by US President Biden to strike Iraq, the situation seems to be escalating, but after the killing of 3 American soldiers and the accusation of the Iraqi factions and that Iran is behind the issue, I think we are facing a different stage. Very significantly. He added: “This stage differs in terms of the American force used, its levels, and the nature of the targeting that the Badin administration will undertake in response to the killing of the soldiers.” It seems that the wave of response will target Iraqi territory, according to Al-Shammari, who says that “many indicators indicate that the targeting came from Iraq or was ultimately at the hands of Iraqis.” Regardless of that, Al-Shammari, who also heads the Center for Political Thinking, believes that the issue this time will not be limited to striking the operating rooms and weapons stores of the factions, but rather the issue may go towards targeting personalities, especially since the recent targeting was against one of the leaders of the Al-Nujaba movement, indicating that the upcoming response It will affect high-ranking figures and senior faction leaders.[/size]
[size=45]The American news website Politico reported, citing unnamed American officials, that US President Joe Biden ordered his advisors to present options to respond to an attack targeting American soldiers at a base on the border between Syria and Iraq, which claimed the lives of three US army members. The website stated that among the options before the Pentagon are targeting Iranian individuals in Syria or Iraq, or Iranian naval assets in the Gulf.[/size]
[size=45]The website added that the American response to the bombing of Al-Tanf base will likely begin within two days of Biden's approval, and will be in the form of waves of attacks against a group of targets.[/size]
[size=45]Meanwhile, Ghazi Faisal, a researcher in Iraqi political affairs, told Al-Mada that it is difficult to determine any details about the nature, extent, and depth of the American response to the bombing that targeted the Al-Tanf base, where American forces are located, and the presence of casualties among American soldiers.[/size]
[size=45]He continues: “It is, of course, difficult to know all these details related to the American response, because until this moment, no details have been published by the Pentagon or the relevant American authorities about this strike, which is still under study.”[/size]
[size=45]But what can be concluded, according to what Faisal, who runs the Iraqi Center for Strategic Studies, says, is that this expected strike is “surgical and not a declaration of war against Iran or the factions.”[/size]
[size=45]He added: “The strike is to undermine the elements and military capabilities of these factions and to try to continue to deter them in order to avoid returning to bombing or targeting the American presence.”[/size]
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