The United States will leave a contingent of US troops in northeastern Syria to prevent a possible transfer of the region’s oil fields to the control of IG *. This was announced by the head of the Pentagon, Mark Esper during his visit to Afghanistan.

“At the moment, in a couple of cities in the immediate vicinity of this area are our troops. The goal is to block access, especially to cash proceeds, to ISIS and other groups that may try to get these funds to finance their malicious actions, ”Esper quoted Reuters as saying.

In addition, on the eve of Esper said that the US military, which will be withdrawn from Syria, will not go "home", as Donald Trump said, but to Iraq.

Esper did not rule out that the US military would take part in the "counterterrorism operations" in Syria, leaving them from their location in Iraq. According to the head of the Pentagon, the American military forces sent to Iraq will have two tasks.

“The first is assistance in protecting Iraq, and the second, when we figure out the next steps, is the implementation of the mission to combat ISIS. At the moment the withdrawal ends, the situation may change, but at present our strategy is this, ”the Associated Press quoted Esper as saying.

At the same time, he stressed that US troops continue to leave their positions in Syria.

“The withdrawal of US troops from northeastern Syria continues. We are talking about weeks, not about days ... The current plan is to relocate these forces to western Iraq, ”the Pentagon chief added. The US Secretary of Defense said that about 1 thousand people will participate in the transfer.

Soon, White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney on Fox News Sunday said that "the fastest way to get US troops out of the danger zone is to transfer them to Iraq."

According to HSE professor Dmitry Evstafiev, it is unlikely that the United States will completely leave this region.

“The US decision to move the contingent to neighboring Iraq is a transition from one mousetrap to another. In this case, this is an attempt to make the withdrawal of troops less radical in order to isolate themselves from criticism from political opponents in Washington. American special forces will conduct training, training, and carry out covert operations, but they will not be able to seriously affect the military-political processes in the region, ”the political scientist noted.

Kurdish kink

Recall, October 7, Donald Trump said that the time has come for the United States to “get out of endless wars” and return its soldiers home from Syria.

  • US President Donald Trump with US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper
  • Reuters
  • © Jonathan Ernst

However, the withdrawal of troops from the SAR was prevented by the start of the military operation "Source of Peace" in northern Syria, conducted by the Turkish Armed Forces. The aim of the Turkish military was the Kurdish armed forces, which Turkey calls terrorist organizations - including the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDS). Recall that during the conflict in Syria, the United States supported various Kurdish formations and supplied them with weapons. In 2017, with the support of airstrikes from the United States, Kurdish SDF units occupied the city of Raqqa. Ankara has repeatedly criticized such actions by Washington.

The withdrawal of American troops from the Kurdish-controlled Syrian region gave opponents of the Trump administration from the US Democratic Party, as well as some prominent Republicans such as Senator Mitt Romney, an occasion to accuse the president of “betraying” Washington’s allies.

Under a flurry of criticism from the American establishment and the media, Donald Trump threatened Turkey with sanctions. Along with this, the US President’s letter to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan appeared in the press, in which Trump in a rather informal form called on the leader of the republic not to take responsibility for the deaths of thousands of people. In addition, he warned of his readiness to destroy the Turkish economy.

Turkish authorities called the letter offensive and continued the military operation. Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo went to Ankara - following the negotiations on October 17, the Turkish side agreed to suspend the operation.

Trump called the outcome of the negotiations “beautiful,” and said that “millions of lives will be saved.”

The US President believes that it is unprofitable to maintain troops in the Middle East, so I would like to withdraw them from Syria, but this is difficult because of opposition from the establishment, Yuri Rogulev, director of the Franklin Roosevelt US Studies Foundation at Moscow State University, explained in an interview with RT

“After Trump announced that he wanted to withdraw the troops, not only opponents, but also party members attacked him with criticism. The idea of ​​the withdrawal of troops immediately received a great response, ”said the expert.

According to Rogulev, Trump is trying not to quarrel with Turkey, and at the same time follow the wishes of the establishment, which requires the protection of the Kurds.

“Turkey for them is a gigantic stronghold, a large military force in the Middle East, which the Americans will not just release from their influence,” he said.

Trump Reservation

Even before Esper’s statement, reports began to appear in the American media that Trump was not going to completely withdraw the American contingent from Syria.

  • US military in Iraq
  • Reuters
  • © Ammar Awad

Thus, the newspaper The New York Times, citing a "senior administration official," reported that the US president intends to leave the country with a unit of about 200 soldiers (presumably special forces).

According to the source, this unit will carry out various operations against ISIS forces in Syria and Iraq, as well as "block the advancement of the Syrian and Russian government forces" in the areas of oil fields that the north-east of the country is rich in.

This decision was also made, inter alia, due to negative assessments by Democrats, Republicans, and American military leaders regarding Trump’s actions in the SAR, a source in the presidential administration claims.

It is worth noting that this is not the first time that Donald Trump has been giving conflicting signals about his actions in Syria. At least twice, he declared "victory over the IS" and once already announced the withdrawal of troops - in December 2018.

Then this statement was also met with criticism from both Democrats and Republicans, the media and various think tanks.

According to Yuri Rogulev, despite the desire of the American establishment to maintain a US presence in the Middle East, Trump seeks to reduce the American contingent in the region, since he considers this a non-profitable business.

“ It is important for him to strengthen the American economy, so he is trying to reduce unnecessary expenses, which include units in the Middle East,” said the expert.

Trump has changed his position on the situation in the north of Syria several times, because he is under pressure from various forces of the American establishment, which have diametrically opposed views on the problem of the American presence in the region, experts say.

“In the end, it turns out that Trump acts on the principle of a step forward, two backward. However, the troops are mostly withdrawn. The decision to leave 200 military men indicates that Trump has found an acceptable limit for his actions, beyond which he will be criticized by the establishment, ”the political scientist explained.

Dmitry Yevstafyev added that under the leadership of the Bush and Clinton administrations, the US in the Middle East acted in accordance with the doctrine of the so-called “controlled chaos”. It is easy to launch, but subsequently it is difficult to manage, so the United States in the near future will not give up its presence in Syria itself or on its borders, the expert concluded.

* “Islamic State” (ISIS, ISIS) - the organization was recognized as terrorist by decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of December 29, 2014.