The preparations follow the recent withdrawal of U.S. service members from the al-Shaddadi base in northeast Syria and the al-Tanf base in the country’s southeast earlier this month. A senior U.S. administration official told The Hill that “some” U.S. personnel are departing Syria as part of a “deliberate and conditions-based transition.”
“U.S. forces remain poised to respond to any ISIS threats that arise in the region as we support partner-led efforts to prevent the terrorist network’s resurgence,” the administration officials said. They added that the U.S. presence “at scale” in the country is no longer needed, citing the willingness of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s government to take responsibility for addressing terrorist threats inside Syria.
U.S. Central Command and the Pentagon declined to comment on the reported plans. The Wall Street Journal had previously reported on the potential pullout.
Earlier reports of a possible full withdrawal had raised concerns among some foreign policy-focused Republicans on Capitol Hill. The current shift comes amid recent fighting in northeastern Syria, where al-Sharaa’s military led an offensive against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, a U.S. counterterrorism partner, and captured oil fields.
Last month, the Syrian Democratic Forces and al-Sharaa’s troops reached a fragile U.S.-supported ceasefire, and the Kurdish-led militias agreed to integrate into Syria’s defense ministry. The ceasefire and integration agreement were discussed last week at the Munich Security Conference, where Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and stressed the importance of maintaining the arrangement.
President Trump had sought to withdraw all U.S. troops from Syria during his first term but faced opposition from Pentagon officials, a dispute that led to then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’s resignation. Since then, troop levels have fluctuated, increasing after Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel before the Defense Department began reducing about 600 troops last year, citing progress against ISIS, leaving fewer than 1,000 service members currently in Syria.
“President Trump is committed to supporting a Syria that is stable, unified, and at peace with itself and its neighbors. This is a key element of the President’s vision for a peaceful and prosperous Middle East,” the administration officials said. “A stable and sovereign Syria is critical for the region’s stability. Syria must not become a base for terrorism or pose a threat to its neighbors and the wider world.”
Source: The Hill.
