President Trump has decided to order a rapid withdrawal of all U.S. ground troops from Syria, where they have been assisting local Kurdish and Arab forces fighting ISIS, according to several reports.
There are currently some 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria as part of Operation Roundup, the final push to eliminate ISIS is in its final stages. A defense official as saying the withdrawal is expected to occur as quickly as possible.
After the reports were published, Trump took to Twitter to declare, “We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency.”
We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 19, 2018
The Pentagon did not immediately confirm the reports. “At this time, we continue to work by, with and through our partners in the region,” said Col. Robert Manning, a Pentagon spokesman on Wednesday.
A routine statement from the U.S. Central Command issued Wednesday morning made no mention of any change in policy, and it noted the U.S.-backed offensive against ISIS is not finished.
“Operation Roundup, which began May 1 to defeat ISIS in the Middle Euphrates River Valley and Iraqi- Syrian border region, has continued to gain ground and remove terrorists from the battlefield through offensive operations coupled with precision Coalition strike support,” the statement said, adding, “Operation Roundup will continue to target ISIS as the Coalition remains committed to the lasting defeat of ISIS to increase peace and stability in the region, and to protect all our homelands from ISIS’s terrorist threat.”
The reports made no mention of the U.S. and Coalition air forces in the region, which have also been supporting the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.
The U.S. recently established observation posts in northeastern Syria in a move the reassure NATO ally Turkey that there was no threat from some members of the Kurdish YPG, which Turkey has labeled terrorists.
An earlier report from the Wall Street Journal said the U.S. military was preparing to withdraw its forces from northeastern Syria, following a call last week between Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Erdogan this week threatened to launch an assault on Kurdish troops backed by the U.S.
If the plan is to withdraw all U.S. ground troops, it would mark a sharp reversal from statements made in September by national security adviser John Bolton, who said the U.S. would stay in Syria as a counterweight to the Iranian presence there.
“We’re not going to leave as long as Iranian troops are outside Iranian borders and that includes Iranian proxies and militias,” Bolton said, according to the Associated Press.
Asked about Bolton’s comments at the time, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis pushed back, insisting there was no mandate to stay in Syria to counter Iran.“No,” he said. “Our troops inside Syria are there for one purpose, and that’s under U.N. authorization about defeating ISIS.”
Trump’s decision reportedly came the same day the State Department authorized the $3.5 billion sale of Patriot missiles to Turkey, which the U.S. has been urging Ankara to buy instead of Russian S-400 air defenses.
