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Trump Orders Withdrawal of U.S. Troops From Northern Syria

Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper, second from left, this month. “Fifty service members are not going to stop a Turkish advance,” he said. “The U.S. doesn’t have the forces on hand to stop an invasion of Turkey that is 15,000 strong.”Credit...Doug Mills/The New York Times

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper said Sunday that President Trump ordered a withdrawal of American forces from northern Syria, a decision that will effectively cede control of the area to the Syrian government and Russia, and could allow a resurgence of the Islamic State.

[Update: Bipartisan House vote condemns Trump for Syria withdrawal.]

Mr. Esper, appearing on both Fox News and CBS News, said that American troops, mostly Special Operations forces, would leave the northeastern part of the country in the face of Turkey’s incursion into the section of Syria controlled by Kurdish forces, a group of fighters trained and backed by the United States government.

The Pentagon has slow-walked previous orders by Mr. Trump to evacuate from Syria, to protect its Kurdish partners and hold the ground it took back from the Islamic State. But Mr. Esper’s comments Sunday indicated that this time Mr. Trump’s drawdown order was being acted on with haste.

The bulk of the roughly 1,000 troops in Syria are positioned in the northeastern part of the country. The new orders will remove the troops from that area, sending them, at least initially, to Iraq. For now the Pentagon will leave the Special Operations forces in southern Syria in place. Military officials said plans remained fluid, and commanders would be watching the situation closely over the next three days. But in any case, the implications were clear: American forces will not be coming to the aid of their Kurdish allies in the face of the Turkish-backed offensive.

Appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” Mr. Esper defended the planned withdrawal of what he said was “less than 1,000 troops” as prioritizing the safety of American soldiers in the crisis, and he said the United States would ultimately have been unable to deter Turkey from invading Syria.

“Fifty service members are not going to stop a Turkish advance,” Mr. Esper said, referring to the “trip wire” force along the Turkish border that Mr. Trump ordered removed last week. “The U.S. doesn’t have the forces on hand to stop an invasion of Turkey that is 15,000 strong.”

Mr. Esper said the Pentagon expected Turkish forces to annex even more territory than originally estimated. He also confirmed that the commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces was “cutting a deal” with Russian and Syrian government forces who are now heading north to fight back against the Turkish offensive.

The announcement came amid a wave of intense criticism from both parties over the pullout.

Representative Adam Kinzinger, an Illinois Republican who served in Iraq as an Air Force pilot, said that the withdrawal of American troops from Syria was “going to be terrible,” and that the president was putting national security at risk.

“The Kurds found out on Twitter, for goodness’ sakes,” Mr. Kinzinger said on CBS’s “Face The Nation.” “We have left them to the wolves. And the message this is sending to our allies around the world, I think, is really going to be bad.”

Representative Eliot L. Engel, Democrat of New York and the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, called for the House to pass his bipartisan legislation to condemn Mr. Trump’s Syria policy and impose sanctions on Turkey. The measure is co-sponsored by the top Republican on the panel, Representative Michael McCaul of Texas.

“I can think of nothing more disgusting in all the years I’ve been in Congress than what this president is allowing to happen to the Kurds,” Mr. Engel said on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” adding, “This is going to make people flee from us, and it’s just absolutely disgraceful that the president of the United States is facilitating all of this.”

Mr. Trump took to Twitter to defend the pullout, calling it “very smart not to be involved” in the fighting, and to try to mollify his critics, expressing openness to imposing sanctions on Turkey. But the denunciations piled up on Sunday, coming even from military officials who are usually allies of the administration.

“Shame: while Kurds are slaughtered US military in full retreat in eastern Syria,” tweeted Jack Keane, a retired Army vice chief of staff who has been close to the Trump White House. “Giving up control of airspace enables Turk invasion.”

Throughout the fight with the Islamic State that began in 2014, the Kurdish forces proved to be America’s most able partners. But Turkey has long viewed those forces as an offshoot of what it and the United States consider a terrorist group it has long battled inside its borders and throughout the region.

The Kurdish forces were key to breaking the Islamic State’s control of territory in Syria, effectively destroying its self-proclaimed caliphate. Despite Mr. Trump’s claim that the Islamic State is defeated, the fighters remain an effective insurgent force in Syria and Iraq. If the Turkish incursion into Syria breaks the power of the Kurdish force, some military officials believe the Islamic State could once again find lawless safe havens from which to rebuild.

American military forces pulled out of Ain Issa, a Syrian town north of the Islamic State’s former self-declared capital of Raqqa, on Sunday morning after an advance of the Free Syrian Army, a rebel group backed by Turkey, according to American military officials.

The remaining Special Operations forces are working out of about a dozen bases or outposts in northeastern Syria. One of the most important of those is Manbij, where nearly 200 American forces are based. That base is the most likely to be evacuated next.

Turkish officials have long objected to Kurdish control of Manbij. Ankara has repeatedly said it wants Kurdish forces to withdraw from Manbij, and give control to its Syrian Arab allies.

American military officials do not believe Turkey will be able to effectively control any territory it moves into, and believe that its offensive is likely simply to allow the Syrian regime, backed by Russia, to effectively retake control of the country.

The United States also maintains a small contingent of troops at the Al-Tanf base in south-central Syria, as a deterrent to Iranian movements in that region. The withdrawal order will not affect that post, an American official said.

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First Came ISIS, Then Iran: How the Mission at a U.S. Base in Syria Kept Growing

President Trump has ordered the withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Syria. But the unexpectedly large role of Al-Tanf, a small U.S. outpost in Syria, reveals why leaving the country won’t be so easy.

What can a remote outpost tell us about how the U.S. got pulled so deep into Syria’s war? The answer might be easiest to understand if we start out small. In March of 2016 — a series of victories in a desolate patch of the Syrian desert. A band of rebels captures a border crossing. And then they move and capture a rectangular compound that’s been in the hands of the Islamic State. Now, like a lot of forces in Syria, big and small, these guys want to be known. They’d sent out promotional videos. They’d made the TV news. They’d even made a YouTube page, and asked visitors to subscribe, to follow along while they go fight ISIS. But all these videos, they tell us something else. American weapon. American weapon. American weapon. And all this propaganda? Behind the scenes are coalition advisers. They’re coaching the rebels with how to introduce themselves to the world. They’re backing the rebels because, at the time, this was part of America’s big plan for defeating the Islamic State in Syria: Train and equip local rebels to do the fighting. “We will advise, and we will assist.” These rebels are called the New Syrian Army. And that compound they captured? That rectangle in the desert? It turned into a small military base called Al-Tanf. That’s far away from all other U.S. and coalition bases in Syria. In the years to come, the base will be attacked by ISIS, threatened by Iranian proxies and become the subject of Russian conspiracy theories. This base will illustrate how it can be easy to get involved in a war — “This is a transnational long-term threat.” — but much harder to get out of one. “Senator, that would have to be provided in a different setting.” “Wait a minute.” “Why can’t you — “ “Wait. Wait a minute.” How the mission can change in unexpected ways. But the original mission, of course, was to defeat the Islamic State. The choice of Al-Tanf as a base was a good one. Right off the bat, the rebels build a couple walls. And this gives them control of a major road. That lets them disrupt the Islamic State’s ability to move between Syria and Iraq, and to stop them from entering Jordan, which is an important American ally. But the rebels’ main objective is to use Al-Tanf as a staging ground to seize the region back from ISIS. In their first year, the rebels have some failures — — and they have some successes. American and coalition soldiers are there with them doing the training. The rebels managed to recapture a good amount of land, along with other rebel groups in the area. That’s seen in blue. But here’s where Al-Tanf is forced to take on an entirely new, entirely unexpected role, an example of America’s expanding mission in Syria — Iran. See, when the American-backed rebels capture land from ISIS — remember, that was their original mission — they’re also capturing land that President Bashar al-Assad wants back, after losing it earlier in the civil war that began in 2011. So the regime’s coming after them, like it or not. Iran’s been supporting the regime, and has its own reasons for wanting control of this rebel area. See this road that Al-Tanf’s on? It leads all the way to Iran. Iran wants to be the dominant player in the region. Do you think it wants a little U.S. base blocking a valuable supply route that carries Iranian influence and materiel all the way to the Mediterranean? No. So in the spring of 2017, the Syrian army and Iranian-backed militias decide to take the region back with an offensive. Their objective is to reach the Jordanian and Iraqi borders. In the way is Al-Tanf. And by this time, the U.S. has established a protective circle around the base that’s called a deconfliction zone. Basically, it means cross into that circle uninvited and you risk an American attack. But the pro-regime forces advance anyway. The Americans strike, saying it’s in self-defense. [explosion] These videos claim to show the strikes on pro-regime forces. [Arabic shouting, in reaction to blast] Then the Americans drop leaflets warning the oncoming forces to stay away from the deconfliction zone. But they keep coming. [explosion] And the U.S. keeps striking. And here’s where our story comes to a pivotal moment that shows just how messy it can be when you get involved in a civil war. The U.S. told the world that it was in Syria to fight the Islamic State. “Tonight, on my orders, America’s armed forces began strikes against ISIL targets in Syria.” And now, it’s attacking Syrians and Iranian proxies. “It was necessitated by offensive movement — I don’t know there were Iranians on the ground — but by Iranian-directed forces.” So now we get more American hardware coming in. Meanwhile, the base that looked like this when the rebels took over has now grown to look like this. But if Iran has become a factor in the U.S. mission in Syria, here’s an example of how the government doesn’t want to publicly admit that this has expanded the mission. So let’s head to Washington for a second. Don’t click away. I know congressional hearings aren’t always a thrill a minute, but this one — “— stand.” — gets interesting. “So let me — so what is the — “ A senator asks a high-ranking State Department official what U.S. troops will do in Syria once ISIS is defeated — “ — non-ISIS priorities.” — but question seems to strike a nerve. “Senator, that would have to be provided in a different setting.” He doesn’t want to say that Iran’s part of the Syrian strategy now. “Um.” “Why not?” “Wait a minute.” “Why can’t you — “ “Wait. Wait a minute. That won’t pass muster.” So he relents, just a bit. “We are deeply concerned with the activities of Iran, with the ability of Iran to enhance those activities through a greater ability to move materiel into Syria. And I would rather leave the discussion at that point.” The Iranian threat came just up the road from Al-Tanf. But America’s mission in Syria is also growing beyond ISIS because of what lies just 12 miles to the south — “Trapped in a no man’s land, but still the numbers grow.” — the lives of 50,000 refugees. 50,000. They live in a camp called Rukban. Many of them have fled the Syrian regime and the Islamic State. The camp is so close to Al-Tanf that it’s protected by the base’s deconfliction zone. “And we’re going to be present at Al-Tanf to make sure ISIS cannot return and also to manage this difficult humanitarian situation.” Hear that? Yet another reason to stay in Syria — protect the refugees. But these refugees serve another purpose — [Russian speech] — as props for Russian misinformation. See, Russia’s got bases in Syria, too. It wants to secure its own influence in the region. But the American presence in Syria, including at Al-Tanf, is getting in the way. So the Russians try to make the Americans and rebels at Al-Tanf look so bad that they’ll be forced to give it up. [Russian speech] They often claim that the Americans and rebels at Al-Tanf block aid shipments to the Rukban refugees, creating a humanitarian crisis. But the internet is also full of conspiracy theories about the base. Some seem to have been influenced by Russia’s statements. Take Al-Tanf’s Wikipedia page. The original entry smears the Al-Tanf rebels by calling them armed gangs and militants that are training terrorists, who the U.S. helps transport. The user who wrote all this has uploaded photos elsewhere that show a Russia connection. How? Well, one, they show a city Russian advisers were in at the time. Two, the file names are all in Russian. And, three, one is taken from the inside of a Russian military vehicle, like the one seen here elsewhere in Syria. Al-Tanf is just one example of how Russia’s presence in Syria has contributed to yet another reason the U.S. mission has expanded — preventing unchecked Russian influence. After more recent Russian threats, the U.S. sends Marines to Al-Tanf as a show of force. [gunfire] The base that looked like this after those airstrikes against pro-regime forces, has grown even bigger. And soon after, a top general arrives, stressing America’s support for the base. Construction on a new expansion begins three weeks later. “I don’t want to be in Syria forever. It’s sand. And it’s death.” President Trump reverses course, and orders a troop pullout from Syria. But there’s an ongoing debate in the government about whether to make Al-Tanf the exception, to keep troops there even after all other U.S. troops in the country have left. Will the base’s story end with the rebels and refugees left to fend for themselves, or will the U.S. decide to stay put to counter its rivals and small pockets of ISIS in a mission that has no end in sight? Whatever happens, remember: This is all taking place in just one small, remote corner of Syria, a country that’s in conflict from end to end. So 23 seconds into this video, I mentioned a border crossing, the one the rebels use to cross into Syria. Turns out, the Syrian civil war isn’t the only time conflict touched this crossing. I found these images from the Iraq war from 2007. These are refugees flooding the Al-Tanf crossing, trying to get out of Iraq. Back then, Syria was far safer.

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President Trump has ordered the withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Syria. But the unexpectedly large role of Al-Tanf, a small U.S. outpost in Syria, reveals why leaving the country won’t be so easy.CreditCredit...Carlos Lopez/U.S. Marine Corps

The garrison at Al-Tanf, for now, is viewed as critical to protect Jordan and to counter Iranian influence, and Mr. Trump has not pushed for any withdrawal from there. Some former officials have made the case to Mr. Trump and Jared Kushner, his son-in-law and adviser on the Middle East, that Al-Tanf is critical for protecting Israel as well.

Defense officials emphasized that their plans for Syria remained fluid. During the next couple of days, American commanders in the region and at the Pentagon will assess options on which forces should withdraw, in which order and where. Some may withdraw to Iraq or Jordan, and others could go back to the United States or Europe. The Air Force will continue to provide air cover for the military troops that are withdrawing.

The withdrawal from northeastern Syria is expected to be complete perhaps as early as the end of October, a military official said. But the pace of the withdrawal will depend on how quickly Turkish-backed forces advance.

Some defense officials are worried that American forces could be targeted by Turkish-backed forces or other groups while they are withdrawing. Military officials warned that any attacks would be met with strong counterstrikes, to deter any miscalculation by other forces.

Mr. Engel said the United States should consider trying to kick Turkey out of NATO, calling President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “a bad guy.”

“I think it’s something that needs to be considered,” he said. “How do you have a NATO ally who’s in cahoots with the Russians?”

Chris Cameron and Sheryl Gay Stolberg contributed reporting.

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