The United States has resumed counter-terrorism operations in the Syrian Arab Republic, said Kenneth Mackenzie, head of the US Central Command. He stated this to reporters in Syria.

"The pace (of operations. - RT ) is recovering," the Washington Post quoted him.

According to Mackenzie, the US units, together with Kurdish forces, carry out from three to four operations against the IG * weekly.

The commander also said that he did not have information on how long the US troops would still remain in the republic.

“I honestly don’t know how long we will be here. And I have no instructions but to continue working with our partners here ... Now we are giving priority to the final rout of the Islamic State, ”he stressed, noting the willingness of the US military to cope with various situations“ as they develop in the future. ”

In November, the commander of the Central Command of the US Armed Forces stated that about 500 US troops were deployed in eastern Syria. At the same time, he reported that the resumption of their operation against the IG is expected in the near future.

"We intend to remain in this position, working with our partners from the SDS (Syrian Democratic Forces. - RT ) to continue operations against ISIS in the Euphrates River Valley," Al Arabiya quoted him as saying.

In early December, the head of the Pentagon, Mark Esper, in turn, confirmed that the United States made a partial withdrawal of troops from Syria, but did not exclude the possibility of sending additional troops to the territory of the SAR, if necessary. He said this in an interview with Reuters.

  • Pentagon Head Mark Esper
  • Reuters
  • © Mary F. Calvert

However, a week later, Syrian President Bashar Assad said in an interview with the Chinese television channel Phoenix that several thousand American military personnel are in the SAR, including employees of private military companies (PMCs), on which the American regime relies mainly on wars.

“If they have several hundred US military in Syria, then they currently have thousands, maybe tens of thousands of people who work in these companies, and they are participating in battles inside Syria. Therefore, it is difficult to find out the true number, but most likely there are thousands of them, ”Assad quoted the Syrian state news agency SANA.

Recall that for more than five years, the United States and its allies have been conducting a military operation in Syria and Iraq that has not been coordinated with the SAR authorities, the need for which has recently been justified by the danger of intensifying the activities of IS militants.

Contradictory statements

The resumption of the anti-IS operation is “just an excuse for Washington” to maintain its presence in the SAR, said Vladimir Batyuk, head of the Center for Military-Political Studies of the Institute for US and Canadian Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The analyst also pointed out that "the statements of the US military-political leadership contradict each other." On the one hand, the Pentagon reports on the need to conduct an anti-IS operation, and on the other, US President Donald Trump announces the final victory over this terrorist group.

Recall that plans to withdraw American troops from Syria, as well as the fact that the United States defeated the "Islamic State," Trump has repeatedly stated. Once again, he announced this on October 12, speaking at a conference of conservative politicians in Washington. Then the head of the White House noted that the US military completed its mission in Syria and must leave the country. According to him, the United States allegedly defeated the IG.

This statement by the American leader was made a few days after Turkey announced the start of the military operation "Source of Peace", the purpose of which, inter alia, was the destruction of the Kurdish National Self-Defense Forces (YPG) in the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDS), which were supported by Washington, and the Turkish side considers terrorist. In addition, as part of this operation, Ankara wants to complete the creation of a security zone in the north of the SAR, where Turkey intends to resettle Syrian refugees who have found themselves on its territory.

It is worth noting that Trump announced his “victory” over the IG in March. Then the head of the White House signed a statement stating that the United States, together with "partners in the international coalition against the IS ... liberated all the territories controlled by the IS in Syria and Iraq."

According to HSE professor Dmitry Evstafiev, the United States, despite its statements about the final withdrawal of troops, is still striving to maintain a presence in Syria because it wants to control oil fields for personal gain.

In mid-November, Syria's state-owned television channel Al-Ikhbariya reported that US forces crossed the Syrian-Iraqi border and occupied several oil fields in the north-east of the SAR. It was clarified that the US convoy consisted of 22 army vehicles and two trucks that moved undercover from the air.

  • US President Donald Trump
  • Reuters

At the same time, back in October, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that government agencies in the United States receive more than $ 30 million a month from the production of contraband oil in Syria. This was stated by the official representative of the defense department, Major General Igor Konashenkov. According to him, fuel trucks from oil fields in eastern Syria are being smuggled to other states under the guise of the US military and PMCs. At the same time, as the representative of the defense department noted, in the event of an attack on the caravan, "special operations forces and US military aviation are immediately attracted to protect it."

"The pretext"

American politics in the Near and Middle East is "extremely inconsistent," summed up Vladimir Batyuk.

“The danger of IS revival is used by the United States solely as a plausible excuse to maintain its presence in the Middle East region, including in Syria,” the expert explained in a conversation with RT.

At the same time, it is important for the USA to maintain its position in the SAR “from a geopolitical and technical point of view,” Batyuk believes.

“After all, we are talking about controlling deposits in the east of the Arab Republic and about using them for their own purposes. Such American plans are absolutely unlawful, but in this case, the United States neglects international law, ”the analyst said.

A similar position is shared by Dmitry Evstafiev. According to him, not only the military-political leadership of the United States, but also Trump "say absolutely contradictory things."

“And this does not bother him at all. He states that it is beneficial for him to say at a particular moment in time, so it would be naive to trust his words unconditionally, ”the expert said in an interview with RT.

Yevstafyev also noted that for the United States "it is fundamentally important to leave the region in such a way as to stay, maintain influence and ability to determine the policies of key countries, in particular the Persian Gulf oil monarchies."

“A quick withdrawal from Syria would call into question the opportunity to influence the situation in Iraq and keep it there in modern realities. Therefore, the United States last year did not at all withdraw troops from Syria, but reconfigure their resources that they had in the region. Today we can already say that this process is nearing its end. With this, Washington has untied its hands to pursue its policy in the Middle East, ”the analyst emphasized.

Yevstafyev also did not rule out that the United States could increase the number of American military units in Syria to "provide more total control over the country's oil-bearing regions."

  • Oil field in Syria
  • AFP
  • © Delil SOULEIMAN

Vladimir Batyuk, in turn, noted that at the moment "it is difficult to talk about the true alignment of US forces in Syria," since Washington "continues to operate with the help of mercenaries in the SAR."

“The United States resorted to their services in those cases when they do not want to involve their military units in an international scandal,” the expert said.

At the same time, Batyuk said that the further steps of the White House in Syria will directly depend on the course of the presidential campaign in the United States and the situation in the Middle East.

“However, most likely, until the end of November this year, the United States will maintain its military presence in Syria,” the analyst summed up.

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