US Planning to Keep 1,000 Troops in Syria despite Trump’s Withdrawal Call

The Trump administration’s talks with Turkey, European allies and US-backed Kurdish forces haven’t resulted in an agreement to create a “safe zone” in the country’s northeast where the last pocket of terrorist are operating, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

After Trump’s December announcement, Turkey threatened to cross the border into Syria and attack the Kurds, a group Ankara accuses of being a terrorist group.

The US will now continue to work with the Kurds, meaning that as many as 1,000 American troops will remain in Syria, the report added.

Last month, the White House announced that around 200 American troops would remain in Syria on a “peacekeeping” mission.

Trump’s initial decision to remove the roughly 2,000 troops prompted the resignation of Defense Secretary James Mattis and criticism from bipartisan lawmakers.

Members of Trump’s national security team continued to press the president to get assurances from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan not to attack the Kurds after the US withdrawal. After Erdogan refused to do so, Trump decided to keep some troops in Syria, the journal added.

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