MEMRI: Special Dispatch | 7189 | November 20, 2017
Article In Syrian Government Daily: Syrians Entitled To Oppose U.S. Presence
In Their Country By Every Possible Means

In recent days, the Syrian regime and its allies have reportedly managed to
seize the city of Al-Bukamal, on the Syria-Iraq border, from ISIS, thus
providing their forces with a land route from Iran through Iraq to Syria.
Following this development, the Syrian government daily Al-Thawra published
a number of articles discussing the possibility of armed resistance against
the U.S. forces in Syria. Prominent among them was an article by Al-Thawra
columnist Mustafa Miqdad, who wrote that the next target of the military
campaign of the Syrian regime and its allies would be other areas that are
not yet under the regime's control, including Al-Raqqa and additional areas
where U.S. forces are present. He claimed that, now that ISIS has been
eliminated by the Syrian regime, there is no longer any justification for
the presence of U.S. forces in Syria, which was illegitimate to begin with,
and therefore the Syrian people are fully entitled to oppose these forces by
every means.

Another Al-Thawra columnist, Munir Moussa, likewise called to directly
oppose the U.S. forces, writing: "The American aggression will continue as
long as its forces do not encounter direct opposition." He added that the
Syrian regime firmly rejects U.S. presence in the country and that this
position is "met with understanding on the part of Syria's
allies."[1]Columnist Muhriz Al-'Ali wrote that "the U.S. forces on Syrian
soil will be treated as occupiers that must be opposed."[2]

These statements join similar threats by the Syrian regime and its allies to
expel the U.S. troops from the country, threats which were voiced after
these troops and the U.S.-allied Syrian Democratic Forces took the city of
Al-Raqqa from ISIS.[3]

The following are translated excerpts from the article by Mustafa Miqdad:

"The city of Al-Bukamal has been purged of the ISIS filth, and the
engineering units continue their sacred task of digging up the mines and
bombs that this terror organization planted in the streets, neighborhoods
and buildings of the city. ISIS no longer has any presence in the area,
except in a few spots in small villages on the western bank of the
Euphrates – and they [too] will not be left out of the [Syrian army's]
reoccupation and purging campaign in the coming days. But what will come
after Al-Bukamal and eastern [Syria]? Where will the heroic Arab Syrian army
turn and what will it do after eliminating ISIS, simultaneously with its
elimination in Iraq?


Forces of the Syrian regime and its allies in Al-Bukamal (image:
facebook.com/C.Military1, November 19, 2017)

"There isn't the slightest doubt that Al-Raqqa and eastern Aleppo areas, as
well as other areas in Syria, will be the next target of the sacred military
operations, and the illegitimate American presence will have no impact
whatsoever on the movement of our national forces. The invading American
forces are in violation of international law, and the false pretexts [they
use to justify] their presence are completely baseless now that terror has
been eliminated by the courageous Arab Syrian army and by its allied forces
that are operating on Syrian soil at the explicit request of the national
[Syrian] government, in accordance with international law and conventions.
The American presence, on the other hand, violates every [international] law
and convention and is a flagrant violation of [Syria's] national
sovereignty. Therefore, it is doomed to fail, and it will be unable to
present any justifications or excuses [for its presence] to international
circles, through false claims about combatting terror. Moreover, national
and popular resistance continues to be the potential strategic reserve that
is available to all the Syrian people, and will continue to be a legitimate
right in every circumstance and every time and place. Therefore, the only
remaining means of dealing with the Americans and others [like them] is in
the hands of the Syrian people, who has the right to utilize any means and
options to eliminate any illegitimate presence throughout Syria.

"Beyond [the discussion] on the means of fighting, [it must be stressed
that] the national right and national laws, as well as international law,
permit the Syrians to use every existing means to preserve the sovereignty
and unity of their homeland. Therefore, the next [phase] is about to become
clear; it is a continuation of the national strategy of combating terror and
pursuing its remnants so as to eliminate it completely and uproot it
throughout the world, since the danger of terror threatens the entire world.
Terror and its arms exist not only in Syria. [I am referring to] the
countries that supported, sponsored and funded it – including the U.S. and
the Arab oil emirates, as well as all the European countries that deceived
their citizens and tax payers into supporting terror under the pretext of
combatting it. The sacred operations of the heroic Syrian army will continue
wherever there are armed groups, whatever their names may be, for none of
them can legitimately remain [in Syria] under any false pretext or name that
contradicts [our] principles and cultural values. No play of terminology
will change the contours of reality. The help of aggressors and colonialists
will not change the reality on the ground. Ultimately, the facts on the
ground are the decisive factor that will determine the national framework
[of the post-war stage]. Only the Syrians will determine this framework,
without the intervention of any external element..."



[1] Al-Thawra (Syria), November 19, 2017.

[2] Al-Thawra (Syria), November 17, 2017.
[3] On this, see MEMRI Special Dispatch No.7179, Syrian Regime And Its
Allies: We Will Expel U.S. From Syria, Even By Military Means; Al-Raqqa Is
Occupied By U.S. Allies, November 14, 2017.

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