A convoy of US forces armored vehicles drives near the village of Yalanli, on the western outskirts of the northern Syrian city of Manbij, on March 5, 2017. Delil Souleiman/AFP/Getty Images
On Thursday, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders announced that the US will keep about 200 troops in the country as a “peacekeeping group” even after the formal withdrwal from the country.
However, by Friday, it had appeared that this number could be doubled. According to this version of the event, 200 troops will remain at the US base of al-Tanf, located on the Damascus-Baghdad highway and 200 others will be deployed in the area controlled by US-backed forces in northeastern Syria.
JUST IN: 400 U.S. troops will stay behind in Syria– not 200 as the White House said last night a statement: U.S. official. Friday morning, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders called the 200 number a “rough estimate.”
— Lucas Tomlinson (@LucasFoxNews) February 22, 2019
Earlier this week, reports appeared that the UK and France will withdraw their forces from Syria if the US pulls out its own troops. Therefore, it became apparent that the US-led coalition will collapse without US boots on the ground in Syria. So, the Trump adminstration may have decided to re-shape its approach. Another important factor contributing to the prolonged US presence in the war-torn country is the hardcore pro-Israeli policy of the Trump administration. The US military presence in Syria remains a useful tool in the ongoing geopolitical standoff against Iran.
Yeah right.. Lets go with this “400” number if you are foolish enough to believe it! In actuality, I can see the US keeping ten fold that number in both the north and around the strategic forward offensive position at Al Tanf!
Basically, this shows once again that the announced “withdrawal” of the criminal US forces from Syria is a sham!
The mercenaries are not counted in the numbers just the enlisted. The rest is black budget and lets not forget the thousands of kurds.
200 SF to hold the civilian hostages in al Rukban death camp? How many starving head-choppers and hostages are there? Some are innocent Syrians that had nothing to do with the FSA or ISIS. Nice to see CENTCOM establishing it’s own Little Gaza in the Syrian dessert. Let the airstrikes begin!
Those are pumping stations where pipelines converge.
400 illegal troops in a foreign land that nobody invited them !
The Trump US forces withdrawal pledge has been compromised. LOL
Insurgency and targeted attacks of US troops is the next step. They need to be picked off like flies at this point for the message to get across that they don’t belong there.
Fucking ridiculous, absolutely unacceptable. We Americans have invaded and occupied yet another nation with plans to stay over a decade atleast.
The only way the Americunt cowards have ever left a country is when the cost of occupation becomes too high. It is time to focus on expelling all illegal forces occupying Syria and Iraq.
And who’s going to do that?
Who do you think? Americunt loudmouth murdering cowards have lost every war from Korea, Vietnam, Iraq to Afghanistan, so why would Syria be any different? The redneck trash is good at killing civilians but is casualty averse. The crackers join the army for 3 square meals as US is a real shithole and only country in the OECD with a declining life span as no healthcare, no homes and no hope. Just gun violence and spite at home and abroad by a miserable racist population brainwashed by Zionist parasites.
West have divided India and will further divide it if India don’t like to avoid them. Who are Pakistanis in fact they are Indians but have been brainwashed. Same West will do with every single country in the world if they don’t avoid them.
Looks like another invitation:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_Beirut_barracks_bombings
Count yourself lucky as Assad is queit as a mouse
This is official figures. 200 more disguised US troops will be deployed to Manbij to protect US influence in the city, and 200 US secret Intelligence officers in nihabs will be deployed in Damascus, to keep an eye on Iran.
“reports appeared that the UK and France will withdraw their forces from Syria if the US pulls out its own troops.” This is a sham to pressure Trump, or just a cover so he can change statement of withdrawal. Does UK even have many troops there? Very disappointing news. :(
Just as expected, US Military will remain in Syria for years to come in order to protect our greatest ally of Israel and protect the Kurdish YPG/SDF from the brutal Assad Regime and from the Turks. MAGA!
Just as expected, our sinus infection has came back! time to go to another nose doctor, because our current one charges too much shekels
” MAGA! ”
In only two countries are people stupid enough to believe that stands for “Make America Great Again” : the US and Israel. Everywhere else it means ” Make America Go Away”.
My Jew-dar exploded with this one!
Only a demonic perverse psychotic Jew freak would make such a sickening comment like this one!
Not even Christ himself can save tel aviv from utter destruction. Coming soon to your internet screens.
Hopefully, all the western charity will help you get a nose job and facial reconstruction Jacob Wohl, seriously you cursed Jews are butt ugly.
Israel is not US’ greatest ally – Israel is not in NATO and has relatively short history of cooperation with US military – before 1968 Israel actually looked to France for military hardware and support. However, Israel completely trashed that relationship by launching an air raid on the former French colony Lebanon in 1968 – triggering a French arms embargo. Just because you say it enough, and want it enough, doesn’t make it a reality.
Trump/Pentagon logic: Decrease US troops from 6,000 to 4,000. Keep all illegal bases open. It’s a WITHDRAWAL!
I don’t see this happening. Too few and basically undefended.
Defended by the SDF.
Defended by the ‘coalition’ air forces, which I seriously doubt will never be fired upon by Syria. HIMARS in Jordan too, IIRC. The 200 SF on the ground are nothing but an early warning system and Baghdad – Damascus Highway guards. That’s just big enough to fight off the occasional gun truck of fleeing head-choppers.
The withdrawal has been called off. The only thing that’s going put it back on course is expanding the no fly zone over Al-Tanf and the NE. And putting the escalation management capabilities in place to deter baby raper type airstrikes from outside of Syrian airspace, and making it clear to Syria’s neighbors that air strikes originating from their territory will be subject to reciprocal strikes to neutralize them.
Neo-Con’s will do anything and everything to try and stay in occupation – stall, delay, and hyper aggressively push back in private and public lobbying against the full withdrawal order.
As long as Assad is silent what is the problem? Any country can be there. Assad should lay a red carpet.too
HAve you notice the USA official statements: a) We will stay in Syria until ISIS is defeated. b) We will stay in Syria until Iran moves away from Syria. c) We will stay in Syria just inn case ISIS wants to rise again. d) We will withdraw from Syria. e) We will leave Syria soon. f) We will not leave so fast but slow. g) It will be too danger to leave Syria since everything would be a chaos. h) We will keep some 400 soldier with the Kurds and at Al-Tanf for security reasons. i) Maybe it is too danger to leave Syria. j) Yes, we will leave Syria
If you find some analogy with any psychiatric mental hospital in the World, it is just pure coincidence.
200 troops to keep the Kurds happy and 200 to make Iran unhappy. For the deep state of the US [not Trump], Al Tanf is still the key to a Saudi pipeline they still haven’t given up hope of building, but for Trump it’s a bargaining chip against Iran, while the US base is there operating near the border, there can’t be an Iranian pipeline built either. So while Iranian troops are still in Syria making the Israelis unhappy, the US will also stay in Syria making the Syrians and Iranians unhappy, but the Iranians won’t leave until the Turks leave Syria first, and the Turks don’t want to leave Syria at all, so what can any of them do to start the process, ASSASSINATE Erdogan, that’s what they need to do.