According to the New York Times, “President Trump has ordered a rapid withdrawal of all 2,000 United States ground troops from Syria within 30 days, declaring the four-year American-led war against the Islamic State as largely won, officials said Wednesday.”
“We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency,” the president said in a Twitter post on Wednesday morning. He offered no details on his plans for the military mission, nor a larger strategy, in Syria.
What does the US decision to withdraw from Syria means for Damascus and who will fill the military vacuum?
Kevork Almassian is an award-winning political commentator from Syria. He is the founder of Syriana Analysis and is known for his contribution to the literature on the Syrian war.
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The announcement by the Pentagon that they will be withdrawing all their troops from Syria raises more questions than provides answers.
Will this be the first time that the US withdraws its forces from a country without being forced to? Why would they?
Are they abandoning the Syrian Kurds to the mercy of the Turks? Does that mean that they have worked out their differences with Turkey? Note that the State Department has approved the sale of Patriot missiles to Turkey and there’s talk that Gulenists, possibly even Gulen himself will be extradited to Turkey.
Does that mean that Turkey’s honeymoon with Russia is over? Is Erdogan cancelling out the purchase of the S-400 from Russia, or is Washington prepared to accept that term? What about the “Turk Stream” and the nuclear power stations that Russia has been contracted to build in Turkey?
If Turkey returns to the Western fold, will the Russians trust them to operate in Syria?
What if the betrayed Kurds come to an agreement with the Syrian government to fight off the Turks and their terrorist proxies in return for a semi-autonomous state in a new Syrian Federation? Will the Americans not intervene to protect the interests of their regional allies (Israel and Turkey)?
Personally, I do not see US/NATO withdrawing. It makes no sense.
USA is ISIS & Terror – US will NOT withdraw all * will NOT stop meddling
Chump approves over $2 billion for terrorist arms: The Department of Defense has budgeted $584 million specifically for this Syrian operation for the financial years 2017 and 2018, and has earmarked another $900 million of spending on Soviet-style munitions between now and 2022. The total, $2.2 billion, likely understates the flow of weapons to Syrian rebels in the coming years.
Next Question is where will the US troops be redeployed? Ukraine, Yemen, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Africa? I am sure they will NOT go home, nor will they go to DC where the biggest threat to the American people is. – Fredi Hazeem