{"id":15284,"date":"2019-01-08T20:21:20","date_gmt":"2019-01-08T20:21:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/01\/08\/are-we-leaving-syria-or-not\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T20:21:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:21:05","slug":"are-we-leaving-syria-or-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2019\/01\/08\/are-we-leaving-syria-or-not\/","title":{"rendered":"Are we leaving Syria or not?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The U.S. military\u2019s three-year mission in Syria shows no signs of ending or significantly changing anytime soon, U.S. officials now say, despite President Donald Trump\u2019s announcement in December that the Islamic State was defeated and all troops would be withdrawn immediately<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. airstrikes in Syria have not slowed down based on strike reports released by the American-led coalition, showing that there are plenty of ISIS targets left in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And as of Tuesday, U.S.-backed Syrian fighters were still posting pictures <\/a>and video <\/a>of them training with coalition forces at the controversial base of al-Tanf<\/a> near the Iraq-Syria border, contrary to rumors <\/a>that the base will soon close.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, military officials with U.S. Central Command say they are still fighting ISIS militants in the Middle Euphrates River Valley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur mission remains the enduring defeat of ISIS. As long as there are U.S. troops on the ground, we will conduct airstrikes in support of our forces,\u201d Capt. Ava Margerison, an Air Forces Central Command official, told Military Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The strike report<\/a> for the second half of December showed 469 air and artillery strikes were conducted in Syria against ISIS tactical units, fighting positions, heavy weapons systems, improvised explosive device facilities, armored vehicles, an unmanned aircraft system and even a barge and a boat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regional experts largely agree that ISIS still has the ability to reemerge as a threat, though there is disagreement as to the role the U.S. should play in combating the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lack of a clear message from the White House has left the estimated 2,000 U.S. troops dotting Syria\u2019s northeast and southeast in strategic limbo, and could threaten the U.S. military\u2019s ability to continue marshaling its Syrian allies in their final campaign against ISIS’ remnants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a White House-produced video from Dec. 19, Trump said U.S. troops are \u201call coming back and they\u2019re coming back now,” an announcement that reportedly contributed to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis<\/a>‘ resignation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But White House national security adviser<\/a> John Bolton announced over the weekend that the withdrawal would not be as immediate as Trump alluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not long after Bolton\u2019s comments, Trump tweeted Monday morning: \u201cNo different from my original statements, we will be leaving at a proper pace while at the same time continuing to fight ISIS<\/a> and doing all else that is prudent and necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bolton told reporters that a U.S. pullout would first require assurances that Turkey would not harm the Kurdish allies American troops have been working with across eastern Syria to defeat ISIS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The uncertainty may reflect disagreement inside the Trump administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is a real confusion in Washington over what the policy should be \u2014 with a real rift between the president and his national security advisers,” said Joost Hiltermann, the Middle East and North Africa Program Director for the International Crisis Group. \u201cSo you get this seesaw approach, where Trump says all troops need to be withdrawn and then [Secretary of State] Mike Pompeo and John Bolton say \u2018no, no, no.’\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bolton traveled to Turkey early this week to discuss the conditions of a U.S. departure from northern Syria with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. However, Erdogan reportedly refused to meet with Bolton on Tuesday and published a New York Times op-ed<\/a> calling the U.S.-backed Kurdish Peoples Protection Units, or YPG, a terror group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBolton is trying to row back the withdrawal, but Erdogan seems to be having none of this. Erdogan is likely to escalate militarily and threaten to invade north Syria,” said Joshua Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma. “This will drag President Trump back into the policy mix, as it did last time, and may lead to the president contradicting his national security team.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump had mentioned as early as March that he wanted to pull U.S. forces from Syria, but sources indicated that top defense officials persuaded him to continue the mission<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turkey may try to escalate militarily in northern Syria, where it has consistently threatened U.S. troop positions around the town of Manbij, in order to drive a U.S. withdrawal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt worked last time and got him [Erdogan] a phone call with Trump \u2014 which is probably why he wouldn\u2019t meet with Bolton,” Landis said. “He only wants to talk to Trump, who he knows wants to get out. … Without a strong commitment to remain and perhaps a show of force, regional leaders will continue to needle Washington.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Smoke rises during airstrikes on the Syrian town of Ain al-Arab, known as Kobane by the Kurds, seen from the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern village of Mursitpinar, Sanliurfa province, on October 8, 2014. The Pentagon warned on October 8, 2014 US air power on its own could not prevent Islamic State jihadists from capturing the Syrian border town of Kobane, even as US warplanes kept up bombing raids in the area. AFP PHOTO \/ ARIS MESSINIS (Photo credit should read ARIS MESSINIS\/AFP\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As for the Kurdish allies that American forces depend on to wage the ground war against ISIS’ final pockets of resistance<\/a>, they are beginning to lose faith in the U.S., according to Hiltermann.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t know what to expect from one day to the next, and they\u2019re starting to plan accordingly,” he said. \u201cTheir [the YPG\u2019s] primary concern is survival. Up until now, the only way to survive is U.S. protection. That has kept the Turks and Damascus at bay, and it\u2019s kept the Russians on the sidelines.”<\/p>\n\n\n\t