{"id":30752,"date":"2019-10-21T20:30:19","date_gmt":"2019-10-21T20:30:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/10\/21\/some-american-troops-may-stay-in-syria-to-guard-oil-fields-esper-says\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T05:28:55","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T05:28:55","slug":"some-american-troops-may-stay-in-syria-to-guard-oil-fields-esper-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2019\/10\/21\/some-american-troops-may-stay-in-syria-to-guard-oil-fields-esper-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Some American troops may stay in Syria to guard oil fields, Esper says"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KABUL, Afghanistan \u2014 The U.S. may leave some forces in Syria to secure oil fields and make sure they don\u2019t fall into the hands of a resurgent Islamic State, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Monday, even though President Donald Trump has insisted he is pulling troops out of the country and getting out of \u201cendless wars.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pentagon chief said the plan was still in the discussion phase and had not yet been presented to Trump, who has repeatedly said the Islamic State has been defeated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Esper emphasized that the proposal to leave a small number of troops in eastern Syria was intended to give the president \u201cmaneuver room\u201d and wasn\u2019t final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere has been a discussion about possibly doing it,\u201d Esper told a press conference in Afghanistan before heading to Saudi Arabia. \u201cThere has been no decision with regard to numbers or anything like that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, the fact that such a plan was under consideration was another sign the administration was still trying to sort out its overall strategy amid fierce criticism from the president\u2019s Republican allies of his abrupt decision to pull U.S. forces back \u2014 essentially clearing the way for Turkey\u2019s military incursion into the border region to push back the American-allied Kurdish forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A White House official said GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham raised the issue of keeping U.S. forces in eastern Syria to protect the oil fields and that Trump supported the idea. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal discussions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump said Monday at the White House that he still wants to get all U.S. troops out of Syria, but \u201cwe need to secure the oil\u201d in one part of the country while Israel and Jordan asked him to keep some forces in another part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOther than that, there\u2019s no reason for it, in our opinion,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Mark
In this Oct. 4, 2019, file photo, Defense Secretary Mark Esper speaks to a gathering of soldiers at the University Club at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Ky. (Timothy D. Easley\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Esper said the main goal of leaving some troops around the oil fields would be to make sure the Islamic State doesn\u2019t gain control of the revenue they generate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The defense secretary said American troops around Kobani are withdrawing and that the U.S. is maintaining combat air patrol over U.S. forces in Syria as the withdrawal goes on. He said the U.S. is using overhead surveillance to try to monitor the recently negotiated cease-fire<\/a> \u201cas best we can.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Trump has insisted he\u2019s bringing home Americans from \u201cendless wars\u201d in the Mideast, Esper said all U.S. troops leaving Syria will go to western Iraq and the American military will continue operations against the Islamic State group.<\/p>\n\n\n\t