USA: We have completed the withdrawal from northeast Syria

A defense minister said Washington has moved to a more comfortable position with about 600 troops deployed in the rest of the state after reducing its forces. This is in light of Trump's sudden decision in October that paved the way for the Turkish invasion

USA: We have completed the withdrawal from northeast Syria

United States Secretary of Defense Mark Asper said Washington has completed its military withdrawal from northeastern Syria, moving to a more comfortable position with some 600 troops deployed in the rest of the country after reducing its forces.

His remarks in an interview with Reuters may signal the end of a tumultuous and uncertain period around the United States military presence in Syria, following President Donald Trump's original decision to retire in October. Since then, the number of US forces in Syria has decreased by about 40%.

Asper emphasized that the United States still holds the capability to bring in and withdraw small forces into Syria, as needed. However, he added that the current scope would remain around 600 soldiers in the foreseeable future. "But if things seem to happen, they can be magnified," Asper said during a return flight from the NATO summit in London, which ended yesterday.

He did not rule out the possibility that the United States would further reduce its powers in the future if European countries contributed. "The coalition is again talking a lot, we may see some of the Allies want to join forces," said Asper, who did not say it was going to happen immediately. "I am an ally, a NATO company, will decide to give us 50 people. I can bring back 50 people."

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US military base in northeastern Syria (Photo: AP)

US Army base in northeast Syria, November 11, 2019 (Photo: AP)

The US military says it is focused on preventing the re-establishment of the Islamic State (ISIS), and last month it eliminated the leaders of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Yesterday, Trump said he wanted the remaining U.S. forces in Syria to ensure that its oil fields did not fall back into the hands of the extremist Sunni organization. "We keep oil going, and oil is what fuels ISIS," Trump said.

The US president softened his original withdrawal plan from Syria, after harsh criticism from members of Congress, including on the part of some senior Republicans. They accused him of clearing the way for the Turkish invasion of the Kurdish militia, which was the main ally of the United States in the fight against ISIS.

NATO's relationship with Turkey, the alliance since 1952 whose strategic position is vital to NATO, has come to a halt because of unilateral moves, including the offensive in Syria, and the acquisition of the S-400 system from Russia.

Despite talks between Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the NATO summit, Asper said Ankara did not move on the issue. The Kurdish forces are a terrorist organization.

"I think it was an important step forward," Asper said. "They've been an important part of NATO for decades, its early days, so we have to keep it around."

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