There will be no complete withdrawal… US Secretary of Defense gave directives to integrate US forces into Syria through select locations
The US Department of Defense announced on Friday that it intends to reduce the number of US troops deployed in Syria to less than approximately 1,000 in the coming months.
Washington has maintained forces in Syria for years as part of international efforts to combat ISIS, which seized vast swaths of territory there and in neighboring Iraq more than a decade ago before suffering defeats in both countries.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement that the Secretary of Defense directed the integration of US forces into Syria… through select locations, without specifying the locations where this would take place.
He added, “This carefully considered and conditional operation will reduce the number of US forces in Syria to less than 1,000 in the coming months”.
“With this integration occurring, consistent with President Trump’s commitment to peace through strength, US Central Command will remain prepared to continue strikes against ISIS remnants in Syria,” Parnell continued, referring to the military command responsible for the region.
President Donald Trump had previously questioned the effectiveness of the US presence in Syria and ordered their withdrawal during his first term, but he eventually changed his mind.
While Islamist-led opposition factions ousted President Bashar al Assad last December, Trump said at the time that Washington shouldn’t intervene.
“Syria is a mess, but it’s not our friend, and the United States shouldn’t get involved… This isn’t our fight, the newly elected Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform at the time,” Trump said.
