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On July 15, an Iraqi source familiar with the situation in the country told the Lebanese al-Mayadeen TV that the U.S. is seriously considering establishing a military base on the Syrian-Iraqi border. According to the source, the new base will have wider tasks than the current base in the Syrian border town of al-Tanaf.
The source didn’t clarify if the U.S. is planning to establish the new base inside Iraq or Syria. However, Syrian opposition activists claimed that the supposed base will be established on the Iraqi side of the border, near Syria’s al-Tanaf
The new base, which will serve as a command and communication center, may be a replacement for the current base in al-Tanaf. On July 5, the Syrian Hammurabi’s Justice News blog reported that Russia’s Present Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump may discuss a possible withdrawal of U.S. troops from al-Tanaf during their upcoming meeting on July 16.
If the U.S. establishes a base on the Iraqi side of the border, it will be able to withdraw from some parts of Syria and keep any eye on the key roads between the two countries on the same time. Such a move will be directed mainly against the Iranian influence in Syria and Iraq.
