TOW #2 - U.S. Admits Airstrike in Syria, Meant to Hit ISIS, Killed Syrian Troops.

The United States airstrikes in Syria, that were intended to target ISIS militants, accidentally killed Syrian troops on Saturday, Sept. 17. Before Russia could intervene the airstrikes had already “killed 62 Syrian troops, wounded 100 more and opened the way for an Islamic State offensive” (Barnard and Mazzetti). The unintentional results of the airstrike have created tensions between the United States and Syria, as Syria insists that the United States purposefully attacked its troops in hopes of helping the Islamic State to advance. This misfire did in fact help the Islamic State militants, who took advantage of the U.S. mistake and seized Syria’s army base. Even though the U.S. military stopped its attack immediately after discovering that the attacks were targeting Syrian troops, dozens of casualties had already occurred. Russia and Syria continue to place heavy blame on the U.S. for its inability to separate Syria’s rebel groups, which the country supports, and members of the Islamic State. Mark Mazzetti, a correspondent for The New York Times, and Anne Barnard, who covers the Middle East region for The New York Times, addressed this airstrike and its implications in “U.S. Admits Airstrike in Syria, Meant to Hit ISIS, Killed Syrian Troops.”

Their audience includes any person who is interested in the Islamic State’s global impact. Mazzetti and Barnard utilize a rhetorical mode, the cause- and- effect format, to narrate how the U.S. mistake affects Syria’s citizens and the overall U.S.-Syria relationship. In this article, Mazzetti and Barnard attempt to inform the readers that although the U.S. was trying to attack the Islamic State, the U.S. unintentionally helped the Islamic State to take control of an army base which is important to the Syrian troops’. The authors also convey that this mistake has created tension between Syria and the U.S., as Syria continues to struggle in its battle against the Islamic State. I believe that the authors achieved their purpose because throughout the article, they inform the readers that even though the U.S. acknowledged their mistake, there has been increasing tension between the two countries.