Syrian Writer: Only ‘Dead American Soldiers’ Will Cause U.S. To Withdraw From Syria

In a February 4, 2024 article in the Syrian state daily Al-Thawra, Syrian journalist and author Muhammad Al-Horani, chair of the Damascus-based Arabs Writers Union,[1] called to launch popular resistance and allow volunteers from Syria and the Arab world, as well as sympathizers from around the world, to carry out attacks against the American, Turkish and Israeli forces “in the areas they occupy”.[2] The article was published amid an unprecedented level of tension between the U.S. and the Iran-backed militias active in Syria and Iraq. On January 28, 2024, the militias launched an attack drone from Iraq at a U.S. base on the Jordan-Syria border, killing three U.S. service members and wounding dozens.[3] In response, on February 2, 2024 the U.S. attacked a series of targets and bases of the Iran-backed militias in Syria and Iraq.

Al-Horani writes that only “dead American soldiers” will stop the American and Israeli attacks on Syrian soil, cause the U.S. to pull its forces from the country and end Israel’s war in Gaza, and that the attack on the U.S. base that killed three U.S. troops was only the first step on the way to realizing these goals. The U.S. will not be able to tolerate such deadly attacks for very long, he adds.

It should be noted that, on the day the article was published, Al-Horani addressed a conference of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in Damascus, dealing with the Gaza war and future strategic changes, which was also attended by Iran’s ambassador in Syria. Al-Horani said at the conference that “resistance is the way to end the occupation,” and that “the action of the resistance hurts the U.S., just as it hurts the Zionist entity.”

It should also be noted that, since 2018, the Assad regime has frequently threatened resistance and attacks against the U.S. forces in the country, as indicated in many MEMRI reports on this issue.[4]

“It is no longer possible to keep silent about the American and Zionist attacks on the countries of the region and on the resistance forces within them. This is because the ongoing aggression against our countries would not have been possible [in the first place] were it not for the inaction and silence in the face of the occupation of parts of Syria by the U.S. and its militias, and were it not for the official Arab silence [i.e., the silence of the Arab regimes] in the face of the aggression and barbarity inflicted upon the Palestinian people, especially in the Gaza Strip…

“Knowing the Zionist regime and its supporters, the resistance forces delivered painful blows to their bases and intelligence hubs in the region and the world. The painful blow inflicted in southern Syria [on January 28, 2024], which resulted in the death of several U.S. soldiers and the wounding of many, will not be the last of these [blows]. It was a first step in the right direction, which may prompt the U.S. and its allies to seriously consider [taking the following steps]: withdrawing from the occupied Syrian lands, pressuring the Zionist regime to stop the bloodbath in Gaza, and limiting the unbridled support they extend to the Zionist entity in its war against the Palestinian people.

“Since dead American soldiers are the only thing that will guarantee the realization of these [goals], reality dictates that everyone must demand to extend unlimited support for the resistance forces, so as to rescue us from the Zionist and American occupation. It is true that the U.S. will respond to any attack on its occupying forces, [whether] on the ground, in the air or in the sea, but it will not be able to last long amid the blows of the resistance forces – especially if these blows are painful ones, like the ones it received in Vietnam, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Somalia and in other countries that compelled the U.S. occupation forces to withdraw from their territory under the cover of night.

“The blunt aggression perpetrated by the U.S. against some districts in Syria, especially the Deir Al-Zor [district], and against the Al-Qaim area in Iraq [on February 2, 2024, in response to the killing of the U.S. soldiers], attests to the pain experienced by the U.S. and its forces in the region. This pain must become bloodshed that will end the life and the presence of the occupying U.S. forces, [as well as] the Zionist aggression against the Palestinian people, which is supported by the U.S. and the West. This is the only thing that can restrain the Zionist recklessness, [manifested in] almost daily attacks on Syrian soil, whether against the Arab Syrian army or against its allies in the resistance axis… Nothing can redeem our honor and the blood of our martyrs, which has been flowing for over 12 years, except expelling the occupier and preserving our honor. This will not be realized except by forming popular resistance forces and opening the way for Syrian and Arab volunteers, and for sympathizers from all over the world, to carry out self-sacrifice operations in the areas occupied by the Americans and their allies, including the Turks and the Zionists…

“It is time [to adopt] a firmer and more serious stance that will put an end to the Zionist and American arrogance and wild aggression against Syria and [other] countries in the region. The aggression perpetrated by the U.S. in parts of Syria and Iraq on the night of February 3, 2024 [sic, the attacks were on February 2] was just a preview of the new, wide-scale attacks [the U.S. will carry out in the future] if our countries do not do what is required of them, [namely] stand up against these attacks and put an end to them, especially after our airspace and all our territory have become an arena in which the Zionist and American occupiers can do as they please.”

[1] The union was established by decree of the Syrian government in 1969.

[2] The article was also posted the same day in the London-based online daily Raialyoum,com, owned by the Palestinian journalist Abd Al-Bari Atwan.

[3] According to the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), the attack occurred at Tower 22, a U.S. outpost in northeastern Jordan, near the Syrian border (Centcom.mil, January 28, 2024). The spokesperson of the Jordanian government, Muhannad A- Mubaidin, initially denied that the attack occurred in Jordan, claiming instead that it happened across the border, in the Al-Tanf base in Syria. Subsequently, he said in an official statement that the drone hit “an outpost on the Syrian border,” again without explicitly saying whether it was on Jordanian soil (almamlakatv.com, January 28, 2024).

[4] See MEMRI reports:

Special Dispatch No. 11110 – After Using The Fighting In Gaza To Justify Attacks On U.S. Forces In Iraq And Syria, Iran And Its Proxies Temporarily Suspend Operations Due To Fear Of Large-Scale U.S. Response – 01/31/24

Special Dispatch No. 10558 – Following Iranian Drone Attack On U.S. Base In Syria, Increase In Syrian Threats To Strike U.S. Forces Until They Leave – 04/10/23

Special Dispatch No. 10404 – Syrian Journalist Calls To Increase Resistance Against U.S. Forces In Eastern Syria: ‘Only American Dead Bodies Strewn Over Syria’s Sand Dunes’ Will Lead To The Withdrawal Of The U.S. Forces – 01/04/23

Inquiry & Analysis Series No. 1617 – Amid Escalating Attacks On U.S. Bases In Syria, Syrian Press Calls To Expand Popular Resistance Until Americans Withdraw – 01/11/22

Inquiry & Analysis Series No. 1593 – Amid Escalation In Rocket Attacks On U.S. Forces In Syria, Pro-Regime Syrian Press Threatens: This Is A New Phase In Resistance; Every Rocket Will Be Met With A Rocket ‘Until Occupiers Leave’ – August 5, 2021

Special Dispatch No. 8994 – Syrian Regime Continues To Encourage Popular Tribal Resistance Against U.S.; Assad: This Is The Only Way To Force The Americans To Leave – October 28, 2020

Special Dispatch No. 8803 – Syrian Media Threatens Escalation Of Resistance Against U.S. Forces In Country: America’s Policy “Will Not Cause People To Take To The Streets; It Will Cause The Missiles To Emerge From The Depots” – June 17, 2020

Inquiry & Analysis Series No. 1504 – Assad Regime Encourages Attacks On U.S. Forces In Northern Syria: They Can Choose To Leave On Their Own Feet, Or In Coffins – March 11, 2020

Special Dispatch No. 8398 – Assad Regime Calls For Popular Resistance To Expel U.S. Forces From Syria – 12/09/19

Special Dispatch No. 7402 – Syrian Regime: We Will Expel U.S. Forces From Syria By Means Of Popular Resistance – March 28, 2018.

[5] Al-Thawra (Syria), February 4, 2024.