The United States began a large-scale drawdown of its military forces from Syria.
Two senior U.S. officials told the New York Times the U.S. military is shutting down three of its eight small operating bases in Syria’s Kurdish-controlled northeast — Mission Support Site Green Village, M.S.S. Euphrates, and a third small facility. Troop levels will be reduced from 2,000 to roughly 1,400.
The decrease is the first phase of a planned larger drawdown of the U.S.’s decadelong presence in the country. After 60 days, commanders will assess whether to continue withdrawing more troops. Most recommended keeping at least 500 troops in the war-torn country, according to one official.
The Pentagon told the Washington Examiner that a statement on the matter would be released. The Washington Examiner reached out to U.S. Central Command for further comment.
The drawdown to 1,400 troops will still be above the number of troops stationed in Syria before the Biden administration doubled its presence at the end of last year.
The U.S. occupies a significant portion of eastern and northeastern Syria. Troops were first deployed to assist Kurdish troops in fighting ISIS. Its purpose soon changed to blocking supply routes for Iran to send weapons to its Hezbollah allies in Lebanon and to secure the country’s vital oil and gas fields. The lack of income from these resources played a key role in crashing Syria’s economy, leading to December’s rebel blitz that caused Bashar al Assad’s regime to collapse.
Following the collapse of the Assad regime, the U.S. position in Syria became even further muddled. In March, the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces signed a surprise deal with the new Syrian government, led by ISIS Lt.-turned-Syrian President Abu Mohammad al Julani, also known as Ahmed al Sharaa. Julani has ordered all armed groups in the country to disarm, including the SDF.
The skeptical U.S. position toward the new Syrian government declined significantly in March when Julani’s forces massacred between 800 and 2,000 Alawite and Christian civilians during a brutal crackdown on antigovernment partisans along the coast. Government fighters posted dozens of videos of the torture, humiliation, and murder of civilians on social media.
SYRIAN GOVERNMENT SIGNS BREAKTHROUGH AGREEMENT TO REINTEGRATE US-ALIGNED KURDISH FORCES
The massacres brought condemnations from the U.S. and Israel, while the European Union sought to retain a neutral stance.
President Donald Trump has routinely questioned the U.S.’s presence in Syria, unsuccessfully trying to withdraw troops from the country unilaterally during his first term. The deal between Julani and the Kurds stripped one of the primary reasons for the U.S.’s presence in the country, helping Trump with his withdrawal goal.
