U.S. Moves Toward Rapid Withdrawal Of Military From Syria

US moves toward a rapid, complete withdrawal of its military forces from Syria

By ROBERT BURNS

The United States appears to be heading toward a full military withdrawal from Syria amid growing chaos, cries of betrayal and signs that Turkey’s invasion could fuel a broader war.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Sunday that President Donald Trump had directed US troops in northern Syria to begin pulling out “as safely and quickly as possible.” He did not say Trump ordered troops to leave Syria, but that seemed like the next step in a combat zone growing more unstable by the hour.

A US official familiar with the situation on the ground told CNN earlier Sunday that US forces in Syria are preparing to withdraw from the country

This seemed likely to herald the end of a five-year effort to partner with Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighters to ensure a lasting defeat of the Islamic State group. Hundreds of IS supporters escaped a holding camp amid clashes between invading Turkish-led forces and Kurdish fighters on Monday, and analysts said an IS resurgence seemed more likely, just months after Trump declared the extremists defeated.

The US has had about 1,000 troops — the vast majority of its forces in Syria — deployed in the northeastern Syria area, allied with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces to combat IS. The Pentagon previously had pulled about 30 of these troops from the Turkish attack zone along the border.

With an escalation of violence, a widening of the Turkish incursion and the prospect of a deepening conflict, all US forces along the border will now follow that move. It was unclear where they would go.