Trump starts withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria, claims victory

[webfact]

Trump starts withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria, claims victory

By Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart

 

A Coalition convoy of U.S. led international coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) stops to test fire their M2 machine guns and MK19 grenade launcher in the Middle Euphrates River Valley in the Deir ez-Zor province, Syria, November 22, 2018. Picture taken November 22, 2018. Courtesy Matthew Crane/U.S. Army/Handout via REUTERS

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump has begun what will be a total withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria, declaring on Wednesday they have succeeded in their mission to defeat Islamic State and were no longer needed in the country.

 

A decision to pull out completely, confirmed by U.S. officials, coincides with the roughly 2,000 U.S. troops finishing up a campaign to retake territory once held by Islamic State militants.

 

But it could leave the United States with few options to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State. It could also undercut U.S. leverage in the region and undermine diplomatic efforts to end the Syrian civil war, which is now in its eighth year.

 

News of a of a full withdrawal drew immediate criticism from some of Trump's fellow Republicans, who said that leaving strengthened the hand of Russia and Iran, which both support Syrian President Bashar al Assad.

 

It may also leave exposed an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, which has been among the most effective against Islamic State but is under threat as Turkey weighs a new offensive in Syria.

 

U.S. commanders on the ground, who have developed strong ties to SDF leaders, had voiced concerns about what a fast withdrawal would mean for the U.S-backed forces and were surprised by the decision, U.S. officials told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

 

"We have started returning United States troops home as we transition to the next phase of this campaign," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement issued after Trump tweeted that "We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there."

 

Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama, was slow to get involved in Syria's civil war, fearing being dragged into another open-ended foreign conflict like the one in Afghanistan. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and displaced in Syria, around half its pre-war 22 million population.

 

But in a campaign to defeat Islamic State in Syria, Obama ordered air strikes from September 2014 and then troops into the country the following year.

 

The White House declined to offer a timeline for withdrawal and did not confirm explicitly that Trump had ordered a total withdrawal. U.S. officials confirmed that decision to Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

 

One U.S. official said Washington aimed to withdraw troops within 60 to 100 days and said the U.S. State Department was evacuating all its personnel in Syria within 24 hours. A second official said they could leave even sooner.

 

TRUMP'S WARINESS

Trump is wary of open-ended foreign conflicts and his decision on Syria raises questions about whether he may also reconsider the U.S. war effort in Afghanistan, where American forces have been fighting since 2001.

 

Trump reluctantly agreed to a troop increase last year but U.S. officials have privately acknowledged a sense of urgency and are increasingly focused on securing a peace deal with a resurgent Taliban.

 

Some of Trump's Republican allies in Congress railed against the pullout decision. U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, often a Trump ally but generally a foreign policy hawk, said a withdrawal would have "devastating consequences" for the United States in the region and throughout the world.

 

"An American withdrawal at this time would be a big win for ISIS, Iran, Bashar al Assad of Syria, and Russia," Graham said in a statement, using the acronym ISIS for Islamic State.

 

The surprise decision also raised eyebrows abroad.

 

A British defence minister said he strongly disagreed with Trump that Islamic State had been defeated in Syria. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would study the decision and would ensure its own security.

 

In Russia, TASS news agency quoted the Foreign Ministry as saying withdrawing U.S. troops from Syria created prospects for a political settlement.

 

SPECIAL FORCES

Many of the remaining U.S. troops in Syria are special operations forces working closely with the SDF.

 

The partnership with the SDF has helped defeat of Islamic State in Syria but has outraged NATO ally Turkey, which views Kurdish YPG forces in the alliance as an extension of a separatist militant group fighting inside Turkey.

 

Ankara is threatening a new offensive in Syria. To date, U.S. forces in Syria have been seen as a stabilizing factor and have somewhat restrained Turkey's actions against the SDF.

 

A complete withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria would leave a sizeable U.S. military presence in the region, including about 5,200 troops across the border in Iraq. Much of the U.S. campaign in Syria has been waged by warplanes flying out of Qatar and other locations in the Middle East.

 

Still, Defence Secretary Jim Mattis and State Department officials have long fretted about leaving Syria before a peace agreement can be reached.

 

Islamic State is also widely expected to revert to guerrilla tactics once it no longer holds territory. The United States has not ruled out that Islamic State's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi could still be alive.

 

A U.S. withdrawal could open Trump up to criticism if Islamic State reemerged.

 

Trump had lambasted Obama for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq that preceded an unravelling of the Iraqi armed forces. Iraqi forces collapsed in the face of Islamic State's advance into Iraq in 2014.

 

A senior administration official rejected the comparison to Iraq, where the United States had many more troops and would have stayed if Baghdad had provided legal protections for the American forces.

 

"That's an apples and oranges comparison given the scope and scale of our engagement in Iraq," the official said.

 

LAST 1 PERCENT

Islamic State declared its so-called "caliphate" in 2014 after seizing large swathes of Syria and Iraq. The hardline group established its de facto capital in the Syrian city of Raqqa, using it as a base to plot attacks in Europe.

 

According to U.S. estimates, the group oversaw about 100,000 square kilometres (39,000 square miles) of territory, with about 8 million people under Islamic State control. It had estimated revenues of nearly one billion dollars a year.

 

A senior U.S. official last week said the group was down to its last 1 percent of the territory it once held. It has no remaining territory in Iraq.

 

Hajin, the group's last major stronghold in Syria, is close to being seized by U.S.-backed SDF forces.

 

After losing Hajin, Islamic State will control a diminishing strip of territory along the eastern bank of the Euphrates River in the area where U.S.-backed operations are focused. Militants also control some desert terrain west of the river in territory otherwise controlled by the Damascus government and its allies.

 

U.S. officials have warned that taking back the group's territory would not be the same as defeating it.

 

"The Coalition has liberated the ISIS-held territory, but the campaign against ISIS is not over," Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said in a statement.

 

(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu, Steve Holland and Roberta Rampton in Washington and Sarah Dadouch in Istanbul; Writing by Phil Stewart and Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Frances Kerry and Grant McCool)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-12-20

[Thailand]

Now that's a come back and bite yer bum statement.

[Somtamnication]

Can this guy surprise any more? A surprise a day. A gift from the 'merkins. I always have to take a Prozac before I turn on the news.

 

Now, on with the withdrawal; abandon the 1000s of fighters who have fought with the West. Sigh.

[impulse]

30 minutes ago, Somtamnication said:

Can this guy surprise any more? A surprise a day. A gift from the 'merkins. I always have to take a Prozac before I turn on the news.

 

Now, on with the withdrawal; abandon the 1000s of fighters who have fought with the West. Sigh.

 

Or, we can keep losing our kids and squandering our treasure for decades in someone else's civil war- like in Afghanistan.  There is no good answer.  But there are less-bad answers.

 

Edited December 20, 2018 by impulse

[simple1]

12 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

Or, we can keep losing our kids and squandering our treasure for decades in someone else's civil war- like in Afghanistan.  There is no good answer.  But there are less-bad answers.

 

Considering trump has ignored the warnings from his national security advisers and Mattis not to pull out of Syria one has to question whether the withdrawal is in fact the 'correct' decision for the US. Given that just in the last week there were 250 US airstrikes in Syria and still thousands of IS fighters (look up David Kilcullen's latest interview) seriously doubt the decision will lead to less Western military / civilian deaths in the longer term.

 

trump's decision appears to be pandering to his base, not for the benefit of the USA.

Edited December 20, 2018 by simple1

[bendejo]

Keeping Vlad happy.

I always had a soft spot for the Kurds, poor bastards.

 

Now that the word treason is out of the bag, if it is revealed this was done to appease a blackmailer who is/was the leader of another country, would that qualify?  Actually this pullback in Syria was practically a first-day in office issue.  From what I can piece together from stuff in the press the military has been doing things The Boss didn't sanction, and it looks like his solution is to get the US out of there altogether.  This is being done as Russia is supposedly bringing out new weapons (this may be Kremlin bs).  Man, to be a fly on the wall when Pentagon brass discuss this with DT.  Is the c-word being whispered?  (sounds like coo)

 

Well, there's one thing Hillary got right: Putin's puppet.

 

 

[ezzra]

The U.S. immediately began moving a handful of personnel from Syria and will quickly extract about 2,000 forces over the next few weeks...

What ever those forces can do he can do if needs be using one th the aircrafts carriers he's got floating all over the world and the US Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet can get anywhere super fast...

[Chomper Higgot]

Putin will be delighted with his Christmas gift.

[Andaman Al]

In a bid to change the news cycle and  distract from all things concerning the Russia Investigation, Trump is now willing to play with many peoples lives. ISIL will now be emboldened and the 30 000 or more fighters they have in Syria and Iraq will be dancing in the streets and ready to consolidate forces. Turkey will now more than likely start their long awaited offense on the Kurds who have been loyal allies of the US (Hmm didn't the Turks just pay a whole load of money for Patriot air defence systems this week? - with the promise to buy a lot more).

 

The Iranians, Russians and Bashar will be having their own party and all this done by tweet with no consultation or co-ordination with the Pentagon, Mattis or the National Security Advisor. Trump just woke up and tweeted it. What a CinC ! Mattis must resign as to follow this order by Trump will definitely make the USA's position much weaker and put American lives at risk. This has shocked many Republican politicians who were behind Trump. This is what happens when you put an incompetent real estate agent in charge of your Nation. Merry Christmas Vlad. The US just put the entire stability of the MIddle East in jeopardy and by all accounts, whilst Israel remains silent it is very unamused.

[JAG]

1 hour ago, ezzra said:

The U.S. immediately began moving a handful of personnel from Syria and will quickly extract about 2,000 forces over the next few weeks...

What ever those forces can do he can do if needs be using one th the aircrafts carriers he's got floating all over the world and the US Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet can get anywhere super fast...

If the USA's military ventures since 1945 have proved anything it must be that bombing seven shades of sh*t out of anyone does not lead to victory. Boots on the ground do. Boots on the ground however mean casualties, and you have to be prepared to accept them when you decide to deploy. If you withdraw your troops, because of casualties, or because you no longer wish to be involved, then you have been defeated.

[mtls2005]

1 hour ago, bendejo said:

Keeping Vlad happy.

 

The president's tweet seems to have caught everyone off-guard. Seems strange?

 

 

 

 

 

 

In other Vladdy Daddy news...

 

Trump admin to lift sanctions on firms owned by Russian oligarch Deripaska

 

The Trump administration plans to lift sanctions on companies owned by Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska after he significantly reduced his ownership stake in them. 

 

The Treasury Department announced Wednesday that it would lift financial sanctions on Deripaska’s aluminum company, United Co. Rusal, as well as En+ Group plc and JSC EuroSibEnergo in 30 days, after Deripaska agreed to reduce his ownership stake in each of the companies to below 50 percent.

 

https://thehill.com/regulation/national-security/422122-trump-admin-to-lift-sanctions-on-firms-owned-by-russian-oligarch

 

 

 

 

Melania must have donned her Queen of Diamonds outfit at Vlad's direction?

 

 

[Tug]

Donald is desperate to distract from the various scandles and perhaps to appease his blackmailer/master another words perhaps putin is directing his asset lol

[BestB]

Was it not until Russia stepped in that ISIS kept growing ? 

 

Was it not Russia who cut off all supplies to ISIS including financial support?

 

Perhaps now that US is out, Syrian civil war will end , though the so called democratic army may turn into yet another form of fighters and most likely will be anti US that left them to hang.

[tifino]

Hehe hehe well there you have it! 

Trump pulls out because Russia has stopped supplying,  and finarsing whats happening in Syria... 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Marco Rubio (@marcorubio)

The decision to pull out of Syria was made despite overwhelming military advice against it.

It is a major blunder. It it isn’t reversed it will haunt this administration & America for years to come.

December 19, 2018

[Becker]

2 hours ago, bendejo said:

Keeping Vlad happy.

I always had a soft spot for the Kurds, poor bastards.

 

Now that the word treason is out of the bag, if it is revealed this was done to appease a blackmailer who is/was the leader of another country, would that qualify?  Actually this pullback in Syria was practically a first-day in office issue.  From what I can piece together from stuff in the press the military has been doing things The Boss didn't sanction, and it looks like his solution is to get the US out of there altogether.  This is being done as Russia is supposedly bringing out new weapons (this may be Kremlin bs).  Man, to be a fly on the wall when Pentagon brass discuss this with DT.  Is the c-word being whispered?  (sounds like coo)

 

Well, there's one thing Hillary got right: Putin's puppet.

 

 

Personally I would add using the term "deplorables".

Edited December 20, 2018 by Becker

[Carib]

Throwing the Kurds under the turkish bus and the kremlin into even more laughter. 

[keemapoot]

I guess this might be interest payments on some of the loans the Kremlin made to Trump, or just thanks to Vlad for helping him get elected?

[Emdog]

Seems Trump did not discuss this with anyone on Senate armed services committee, did not discuss it with Dept of Defense.... just did it. Some may see this as "bold initiative" others as demonstration of inability to think through consequences and reflection of "I know more than anyone" narcissism.

I wonder if Turkey has a copy of the pee pee tape?

 

[DeaconJohn]

Let's hope this move is a prelude to a similar disengagement from the quagmire in Afghanistan and a full withdrawal from Iraq.

The US doesn't need Middle East oil anymore and Israel is strong enough to defend itself.

Declare victory and leave.

Enough lives have been lost and money wasted for no good reason.

[bristolboy]

5 minutes ago, DeaconJohn said:

Let's hope this move is a prelude to a similar disengagement from the quagmire in Afghanistan and a full withdrawal from Iraq.

The US doesn't need Middle East oil anymore and Israel is strong enough to defend itself.

Declare victory and leave.

Enough lives have been lost and money wasted for no good reason.

Whatever one may think of the advisability of withdrawing from Syria, the US being self-sufficient in petroleum does not insulate it from chaos in the Middle East. If some disaster there seriously affects oil output the price will rise drastically. Of course, you can impose price and export controls but then the rest of the world economy suffers and when that happens the US suffers badly, too.

Of course, the rational approach to this would be vastly increasing investment in renewables since they are now just outcompeting coal and in some instances gas. But that would require a very different sort of administration from the one now in power.

[farcanell]

stupid woman!

????

 

[Jingthing]

3 hours ago, keemapoot said:

I guess this might be interest payments on some of the loans the Kremlin made to Trump, or just thanks to Vlad for helping him get elected?

It does seem fishy. But everything about Individual-1's tragicomic regime is fishy. He's not a legitimate president in the first place. 

[carken]

On 12/20/2018 at 7:14 AM, simple1 said:

Considering trump has ignored the warnings from his national security advisers and Mattis not to pull out of Syria one has to question whether the withdrawal is in fact the 'correct' decision for the US. Given that just in the last week there were 250 US airstrikes in Syria and still thousands of IS fighters (look up David Kilcullen's latest interview) seriously doubt the decision will lead to less Western military / civilian deaths in the longer term.

 

trump's decision appears to be pandering to his base, not for the benefit of the USA.

No benefit to the USA??? .... how about all the lives that will be spared??? How about all the tax dollar$ that will be saved??? ... I could go on and on with the numerous and many benefits of stopping a war, any war, but hey, I'm sure it would be lost on all the war mongering psychopathic sociopaths out there ... USA should withdraw all it's military forces from all around the world, bring the troops home and shut down all foreign military bases ... the billions of dollars saved could be used to rebuild our country USA and put the military butcher force to work building instead of killing and destroying ... course this will not make The Powers That Be (TPTB) happy, nor the rich 1%ers, nor the bankers, nor the MIC war industry, but it sure would make the world a better place to live in

 

 

As a side note yes I'm an American (81 years old), who lived in USA for 68 years, Thailand for 13 years and yes I served 4 years in the US Army 2nd Armored Div(Hell On Wheels) I was stationed in Germany for 2 years (1956-58) and saw first hand all the destruction still untouched from WW II ... I have lived and visited many countries around the world so I also have an idea what different cultures/societies look and act like ... America/USA had a chance to be a real leader in a civilized world based on peace and a humane desire for good but instead due to greed and a lust for power starting with the vietnam war chose the path of war/murder/destruction ... and wrapped it all up in a evil deceptive blanket of "democratic humanitarian cleansing" and the world allowed us to get away with it ... sticks and stones can break my bones but words ........

 

 

yes I'm ready for the slings and arrows of the word warriors, the justifiers of war and all it's faux heros and indignant militant hawks who see nothing wrong with wholesale murder, destruction and the slaughter of entire nations and societies

BOO RAHHH!!!!

[car720]

6 hours ago, simple1 said:

trump's decision appears to be pandering to his base, not for the benefit of the USA.

Trump doesn't do anything that doesn't pander to Trump.  

[car720]

21 hours ago, carken said:

No benefit to the USA??? .... how about all the lives that will be spared??? How about all the tax dollar$ that will be saved??? ... I could go on and on with the numerous and many benefits of stopping a war, any war, but hey, I'm sure it would be lost on all the war mongering psychopathic sociopaths out there ... USA should withdraw all it's military forces from all around the world, bring the troops home and shut down all foreign military bases ... the billions of dollars saved could be used to rebuild our country USA and put the military butcher force to work building instead of killing and destroying ... course this will not make The Powers That Be (TPTB) happy, nor the rich 1%ers, nor the bankers, nor the MIC war industry, but it sure would make the world a better place to live in

 

 

 

As a side note yes I'm an American (81 years old), who lived in USA for 68 years, Thailand for 13 years and yes I served 4 years in the US Army 2nd Armored Div(Hell On Wheels) I was stationed in Germany for 2 years (1956-58) and saw first hand all the destruction still untouched from WW II ... I have lived and visited many countries around the world so I also have an idea what different cultures/societies look and act like ... America/USA had a chance to be a real leader in a civilized world based on peace and a humane desire for good but instead due to greed and a lust for power starting with the vietnam war chose the path of war/murder/destruction ... and wrapped it all up in a evil deceptive blanket of "democratic humanitarian cleansing" and the world allowed us to get away with it ... sticks and stones can break my bones but words ........

 

 

 

yes I'm ready for the slings and arrows of the word warriors, the justifiers of war and all it's faux heros and indignant militant hawks who see nothing wrong with wholesale murder, destruction and the slaughter of entire nations and societies

 

BOO RAHHH!!!!

 

Don't be so hard on yourself.

I am sure that you are loved by millions.

It is just that we are the ones that are always disregarded and discarded by those who are interested only in themselves.

No matter what cadence we sing they will always laugh at us, so the best thing that we can do is keep our heads down and make sure that we make it to the next chow call.

Stay well old friend.

[simple1]

21 hours ago, carken said:

No benefit to the USA??? .... how about all the lives that will be spared??? How about all the tax dollar$ that will be saved??? ... I could go on and on with the numerous and many benefits of stopping a war, any war, but hey, I'm sure it would be lost on all the war mongering psychopathic sociopaths out there ... USA should withdraw all it's military forces from all around the world, bring the troops home and shut down all foreign military bases ... the billions of dollars saved could be used to rebuild our country USA and put the military butcher force to work building instead of killing and destroying ... course this will not make The Powers That Be (TPTB) happy, nor the rich 1%ers, nor the bankers, nor the MIC war industry, but it sure would make the world a better place to live in

 

As a side note yes I'm an American (81 years old), who lived in USA for 68 years, Thailand for 13 years and yes I served 4 years in the US Army 2nd Armored Div(Hell On Wheels) I was stationed in Germany for 2 years (1956-58) and saw first hand all the destruction still untouched from WW II ... I have lived and visited many countries around the world so I also have an idea what different cultures/societies look and act like ... America/USA had a chance to be a real leader in a civilized world based on peace and a humane desire for good but instead due to greed and a lust for power starting with the vietnam war chose the path of war/murder/destruction ... and wrapped it all up in a evil deceptive blanket of "democratic humanitarian cleansing" and the world allowed us to get away with it ... sticks and stones can break my bones but words ........

 

yes I'm ready for the slings and arrows of the word warriors, the justifiers of war and all it's faux heros and indignant militant hawks who see nothing wrong with wholesale murder, destruction and the slaughter of entire nations and societies

 

BOO RAHHH!!!!

 

I agree the the "Doctrine of humanitarian intervention" in Syria has been completely screwed in Syria. IMO trump is an ongoing disaster with his ill considered interventions with decision making, withdrawal of aid and so on. On the other side of the coin, IMO, unilateral withdrawal / isolationism is a major mistake and will create more destruction and death.

 

Hopefully trump and his sycophants will be rejected by the US voters in 2020 and replaced by someone who can think and act strategically. Not a continuation of the unthinking bull in a china shop as represented by trump.

 

Hope you can find peace????

[bkkcanuck8]

Trump had no choice but to withdraw... Putin just sent Trump a picture of him hovering over the upload button on Youtube... just about to upload the "Pee Pee" tape ????

[Hummin]

sad game, very sad

Edited December 20, 2018 by Hummin

[Jingthing]

This really shouldn't surprise anyone. Individual-1's core ideology aside from the obvious priority whatever is good for him personally has historical American roots --

 

America First (in the American historical politic context, definitely a fascist slogan)

White Nationalist

Isolationist

Xenophobic

Obsessed with genetic destiny (Eugenics) as if humans were the same as horses

 

This aspect of American politics is nothing new but it's as if racist/isolationist Hitler loving Lindbergh of his era had become president. These were the same dangerous bozos that resisted the U.S. getting into WW2 for so long. 

 

Of course I'm not suggesting that all or most U.S. involvement internationally has been positive for the world and/or the USA but right now we do have an extremist isolationist in the white house. Hopefully, not for much longer.

 

This move at this time doesn't appear to make any sense. Which brings us back to Individual-1's priority one well above his perverted white nationalist ideology. His own self interest. Putin definitely has compromising stuff on him, that is already well proven, but what else? Also, it's another good DIVERSION against all the stuff nipping at his heels as far as investigations from every direction. 

 

Edited December 20, 2018 by Jingthing