Trump may leave 200 soldiers in eastern Syria
22 October, 2019
US President Donald Trump is considering a plan to leave a small contingent of American troops, nearly 200, in eastern Syria to combat the Islamic State, a senior administration official told the New York Times.
The official told NYT that Trump favours the plan, which he has been considering for roughly a week, and feels that it would be sufficient to prevent the reversal of US gains against ISIS and allow Kurdish forces in the region to maintain control of oil fields in the area.
This comes as Trump is facing backlash from former military commanders, Democrats and even some of his staunchest Republican allies from pulling out of Syria's border with Turkey, that gave free hand to Turkey Army to launch a bloody offensive in which scores of Syrian Kurdish fighters were killed.
If the US President decided to keep a few soldiers than it would be a major political reversal in a matter.
The development has been confirmed by three other administration and Defence department officials.
The senior administration's officials said that it was highly likely that troops would be stationed along the Iraqi border are away from the cease-fire zone brokered by Vice President Mike Pence.
The president has defended his actions in the media and on Twitter by pointing to his campaign promise to pull the US out of "endless wars" in the Middle East.
"After defeating 100% of the ISIS Caliphate, I largely moved our troops out of Syria. Let Syria and Assad protect the Kurds and fight Turkey for their own land. I said to my Generals, why should we be fighting for Syria and Assad to protect the land of our enemy?" Trump tweeted last week.
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