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| ‘Peacekeeping group’? US to leave 200 troops in Syria for a ‘period of time’ after withdrawal | ‘Peacekeeping group’? US to leave 200 troops in Syria for a ‘period of time’ after withdrawal |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Despite President Donald Trump’s promises to withdraw American troops out of Syria, the US intends to maintain presence on the ground with a “small peacekeeping group” for an unspecified “period” of time, the White House said. | Despite President Donald Trump’s promises to withdraw American troops out of Syria, the US intends to maintain presence on the ground with a “small peacekeeping group” for an unspecified “period” of time, the White House said. |
| “A small peacekeeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for a period of time,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement without elaborating. | “A small peacekeeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for a period of time,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement without elaborating. |
| Trump took the world by surprise back in December, when he announced the US withdrawal from Syria without specifying a timetable. The initiative was not well received in the Pentagon, even forcing Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to resign after clashing with Trump, as both the generals and politicians have been claiming that US presence in Syria is vital and that Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) terrorist group would inevitably reemerge if all of some 2,000 Americans leave. | Trump took the world by surprise back in December, when he announced the US withdrawal from Syria without specifying a timetable. The initiative was not well received in the Pentagon, even forcing Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to resign after clashing with Trump, as both the generals and politicians have been claiming that US presence in Syria is vital and that Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) terrorist group would inevitably reemerge if all of some 2,000 Americans leave. |
| The US withdrawal, initially estimated to take some 3-4 months to complete, is being stalled by concerns about potential Turkish incursion into the territories currently controlled by the US-backed Syrian Kurds. | The US withdrawal, initially estimated to take some 3-4 months to complete, is being stalled by concerns about potential Turkish incursion into the territories currently controlled by the US-backed Syrian Kurds. |
| On Thursday, Trump had another phone call with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the issue. Washington wants Turkey to agree to a buffer ‘safe zone’ in northeastern Syria and is also contemplating arming the Syrian Kurds, despite Ankara's strong opposition to the move. A delegation of high-level Turkish military officials is coming to Washington this week, where they will be hosted by acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Joseph Dunford. | |
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