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Last Updated on November 21, 2023.

Washington – Win Without War Executive Director Sara Haghdoosti released the following statement in response to the escalation between U.S. forces and Iran-backed groups in Syria and the wider region:

“We’re concerned about escalating attacks between U.S. forces and Iran-supported militias in Syria and Iraq, including multiple reported attacks on U.S. facilities and personnel, and a U.S. strike last night that targeted Iran-linked sites in Syria. We strongly condemn attacks on U.S. personnel and urge President Biden to exercise restraint and seek pathways to de-escalation in response.

“We’ve already become accustomed to tit-for-tat strikes between the U.S. and Iran-supported forces in Syria, in which U.S. servicemembers, stationed abroad under an outdated war-on-terror authorization, have been vulnerable to attack. Hamas’ brutal targeting of people in Israel, and the Israeli government’s campaign of collective punishment against Palestinians in Gaza in response, has opened the door to a devastating regional conflict that is drawing in the United States more deeply every day. 

“Given this context, these strikes are not simply a ‘contained’ act of restoring deterrence, but risk being another alarming step up the escalation ladder. All parties must take an immediate step back to avert an all-out conflict.

“For the U.S. government, that means pressing for immediate de-escalation and ceasefire across Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank, including the release of hostages, the restoration of humanitarian aid, and an end to mounting settler violence in the occupied territories. Hamas leaders must face accountability and justice for their terrible crimes on October 7th. A region-wide war, however, will not only fail to marginalize them but will spur new cycles of violence on which they and other armed groups thrive. And people in the region already under siege or rebuilding from conflict – from Palestine and Israel to Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and beyond – will pay the price.”

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Win Without War is a diverse network of activists and national organizations working for progressive foreign policy in the United States.

October 27, 2023