Saying that he wants to “bring our troops back home,” 71-year-old President Donald Trump signaled he wants U.S. forces out of Syria. Once blaming former President Barack Obama for pulling out U.S. troops from Iraq Dec. 15, 2011 causing the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [ISIS], Trump’s been warned about the same thing happening again. After seizing 30% of Iraq and Syria in 2014, ISIS was ousted from its stronghold of Mosul, Iraq and Raqqa, Syria in 2017. With the help of Kurdish Protection Units AKA the YPG militia, the U.S. was able to push ISIS out of its safe havens. Trump said that U.S. intervention in Muslim lands has largely backfired, wasting precious blood-and-treasure without anything to show for it. Trump blasted former President George W. Bush for toppling Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein April 10, 2003, making the worst military mistake in U.S. history.
What’s prompting Trump’s decision to get out of Syria is the fact that the Kurdish YPG militia—formerly the U.S. boots-on-the-ground—finds itself under siege from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan asked Trump to end support for the YPG, a group he considers terrorists, like the Kurdish Workers Party [PKK]. When the U.S. failed to support Kurdish independence in 2017, it left the Kurds with second thoughts about wasting resources and manpower on ISIS. Trump wants the U.S. out of Syria because he no longer counts on the YPG to supply the boots-on-the-ground to fight ISIS in Syria or Iraq. “We have nothing, nothing except death and destruction. It’s a horrible thing,” said Trump, expressing his wish to get out of Syria. Trump realizes with Turkey going after the YPG, the Kurds have no reason to continue fighting for the United States in Syria.
U.S. special Mideast envoy Brett McGurk made it clear last year that the U.S. government could not support Kurdish independence in Iraq or Syria, warning the Kurds about hosting the Sept. 25, 2017 independence referendum. “So, it’s time. It’s time. We were very successful against ISIS. We’ll be successful against anybody militarily. But sometimes it’s time to come back home, and we’re thinking about that very seriously,” said Trump. What Trump’s really thinks about is that U.S. forces were only in Iraq and Syria in an advisory capacity, not as boots-on-the-ground. With the U.S. no longer backing the Kurds, the YPG’s Syrian Democratic Forces no longer wants to do the U.S. dirty work in Syria and Iraq. Without YPG help, the U.S. has no business taking on a combat role against Syrian, Russian, Iranian or Hezbollah forces. If ISIS regroups, the U.S. can always re-deploy forces to Iraq and Syria.
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud warned Trump in a telephone call Monday to keep U.S. forces in Syria. King Salman’s most worried about Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah militia establishing bases in Syria. With King Salman’s 33-year-old son and heir apparent Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman fighting a bitter proxy war against Iran in Yemen, the Kingdom wants the U.S. to keep a troop presence in Syria. Trump has more than one reason to get out of Syria, not least of which is that the U.S. is not wanted by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. With Russia, Iran and Hezbollah fighting to save al-Assad, the U.S. isn’t wanted on Syrian soil. When U.S. advisers helped the YPG topple ISIS, the U.S has a mission in Iraq and Syria. Now that it’s over, there’s a growing chance that the U.S. could get into an accidental confrontation with Russia.
For the last seven years, Saudi Arabia has supplied arms-and-cash to anti-al-Assad rebels to topple the Damascus regime. With Russia, Iran and Hezbollah saving al-Assad, there’s no reason to support the Saudi proxy war in Syria aimed at toppling the Damascus government. Former President Barack Obama backed the Saudi-funded proxy war for over six years, only, as Trump says, resulting in more death, destruction and terrorism in Iraq and Syria. Trump was always a skeptic of the Saudi proxy war to topple al-Assad, rewriting U.S. foreign policy. “Saudi Arabia in very interested in out decision, and I said, ‘Well, you know, you want us to stay, maybe your going to have to pay,” said Trump, not realizing that no matter how much cash at stake, the U.S. has lost its reason for staying in Iraq and Syria. Staying in Iraq is not worth the risk of inadvertent accidents with the Russian and Iran.
Trump’s decision to withdraw from Syria has been met with nothing but criticism from the mainstream press. Despising the Iraq War, you’d think Democrats would wholeheartedly back withdrawing from Iraq. Instead, they’ve warned Trump against pulling out prematurely, leaving the same power vacuum that led to the rise of ISIS in 2014. But with the U.S. throwing the Kurds under the bus, there’s no boots-on-the-ground anymore than U.S. troops. ”We will not rest until ISIS is gone,” said Trump this week. “We’ll be coming out of Syria, like, very soon. Let the other people take care of it now,” said Trump, showing no interest in battling Syria, Russia, Iran or Hezbollah. With the Kurds no longer available in Syria, there’s zero reason for the U.S. to continue the proxy war in Syria. There’s noting inconsistent about Trump saying the U.S. has over-stayed its welcome in Syria.
