President Trump, who ordered the withdrawal of US forces from Syria during his first administration, is reportedly planning to repeat the move. NBC News, citing two defense officials, reports that the Pentagon is working on plans to pull all US troops from the country. The officials say Trump and others in his administration have expressed interest in full withdrawal, and the Pentagon is looking at 30-day, 60-day, and 90-day timelines. Jim Mattis, Trump's first defense secretary, stepped down in 2018 over the withdrawal order. Trump later returned most troops to Syria.
Asked last week about reports he had informed Israeli authorities about a withdrawal, Trump said, "I don't know who said that, but we'll make a determination on that." He added that "Syria is its own mess. They got enough messes over there. They don't need us involved in every one." The Pentagon said in December that around 2,000 US troops were in Syria, more than double the usual level of 900, NBC News reports. Their mission includes countering ISIS and supporting partners including the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces coalition.
President Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria's interim leader after the fall of the Assad regime, said earlier this week that he has not had any contact with the Trump administration yet but he hopes to restore ties with the US, Reuters reports. He described the US presence in the country as illegal. "In light of the new Syrian state, I believe any illegal military presence should not continue," he said. "Any military presence in a sovereign state should take place under a certain agreement, and there has been no such agreement between us and the United States of America." (More Syria stories.)
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