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The presence of Daesh in Syria at different times. (Composite image: PressTV)

The United States envoy to the US led anti Daesh coalition has warned of the possible resurgence of the Takfiri terrorists in Iraq and Syria due to worsening poverty and inequity in the countries. But what is the root cause of the instability and poverty afflicting Baghdad and Damascus?

Two years after the 911 incident, the US invaded Iraq, opening a second major front in its so called War on Terror, having already invaded Afghanistan.

The invasion, Operation Iraqi Freedom, toppled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, but was followed by instability as well as deadly violence that took the lives of over a million Iraqis and displaced a further 9 million.

Consequently, the chaos resulting from the US invasion eventually gave birth to the Daesh terror group in 2014. Three years later the Takfiri group had captured nearly 1/3 of Iraq’s territory.

However, in December 2017 Baghdad finally declared victory over the terrorists.

The victory was owed to the bravery of commanders General Qassem Soleimani, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who played a decisive role in the full scale fight against the Daesh terrorists.

However, in a criminal and terrorist act, the US killed these two figures in January 2020, which blatantly contradicts Washington’s concern about the resurgence of Daesh.

Following the assassination of top Iranian General, Qassem Soleimani, and Iraqi PMU Commander, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, anti US sentiments escalated in Iraq.

US bases in the country have come under increasing rocket and drone attacks amid rising tensions over the continued American military presence in the Arab country.

Elsewhere, in Syria, the government has been grappling with foreign backed militancy since March 2011, which later gave way to the presence of terrorist groups such as Daesh.

Furthermore over the past years, the US has been leading a military coalition conducting airstrikes against purported targets of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group inside Syria, without any authorization from the Damascus government, however.

Numerous reports and official accounts have revealed the US and Israel’s involvement in the relocation of Daesh elements across Syria and shipments of supplies to them.

The US has also been blamed for stealing and selling Syrian oil and other resources. While the US claims it cares about Syrian civilians, it has imposed crippling economic sanctions on Syria effectively preventing the country from rebuilding after a decade of war.

"A lot of stupidity"

It’s really hard to be very clear about the motivation here, because it could just be stupidity. There’s a lot of stupidity in US foreign policy, pigheadedness... famously the CIA, when, when people say: "Why do you keep invading and destroying countries when it doesn’t work when it doesn’t help you"? And the answer that the CIA gives is: "it’s what we do. It’s what we do, it’s just, that’s the way we function".

It’s almost like it’s an instinct to invade, to create chaos; so that’s one possibility. Another reason that’s related to this could just be sour grapes, it could be Washington being a spoiled sport, the US sees that these countries want to become independent, and want to develop independently of the United States.

Eric Walberg, Author and Journalist

Thousands of Syrians have died since the outbreak of the Western backed war in 2011 to topple the government of President Bashar Al Assad.

After failing to do so through proxies and direct involvement, the US government implemented additional sanctions on Syria through a law known as the Caesar Act.

The crippling sanctions under the Caesar Act specifically target energy and construction sectors to prevent Syria from rebuilding after a decade of war.

The Caesar act enabled Washington to sanction any person involved in reconstruction efforts in government controlled parts of Syria.

The correlation between US economic sanctions and the crisis in Syria is clear; Syria’s currency has plummeted and the prices of basic goods have soared as a result of the sanctions.

According to the UN 60% of Syrians lack access to sufficient food. Beside the economic embargo, the US has also occupied oil fields in Syria’s northeast, depriving Damascus of a vital resource.

Moreover, the UN has warned that US sanctions have hampered humanitarian aid deliveries to Syria.

Yes, they do want a certain amount of instability and chaos wherever their own interests are threatened. Syria was clearly the strongest anti imperialist, anti American, and anti Israel force in the Middle East

Eric Walberg, Author and Journalist

Washington cautions that Daesh terrorists might start regaining territory in Iraq and Syria as a result of the rampant poverty and instability.

That’s while the US has targeted Baghdad and Damascus with crippling economic sanctions, which are even worse considering the prevalent socio economic conditions.

Besides sanctions, US military intervention, on the whole, is responsible for the creation of the Daesh terrorists.

If the US hadn’t invaded Iraq in 2003 and if Washington, and its allies, hadn’t backed the opposition groups and al Qaeda affiliates in Syria, Daesh never would have been formed.