White House: 200 American Forces Will Remain in Syria

The White House announced on Thursday, February 21, that after the withdrawal of American troops from Syria, a "small peacekeeping force" will remain in the country. Donald Trump ordered the withdrawal of American troops from Syria in December, stating that Islamist fighters in the country had been defeated. Meanwhile, the Syrian Democratic Forces, supported by the U.S., are still engaged in battles to reclaim the last area under the control of the Islamic State group. Reuters reports that the U.S. president has been pressured by his advisors to change this policy to ensure the security of the Syrian Kurdish forces, who were the main allies of the U.S. in the fight against the Islamic State and are now threatened by Turkey, while also acting as a barrier against the expansion of Iranian influence. Sarah Sanders, the White House spokesperson, stated: "A peacekeeping force of 200 personnel will remain in Syria for a while." This decision was announced following a phone conversation between Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The White House stated that the two leaders agreed to continue coordination for the establishment of a safe zone. An American official said that this decision by Trump had been made long ago. The duration of the mission of this 200-member force and their exact deployment location have not yet been specified. The presence of even a small number of American troops in Syria is likely to convince Washington's European allies to also commit hundreds of their own troops to establish and control a safe zone in northern Syria. The commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces has requested that the U.S. and its allies maintain a force of 1,000 to 1,500 personnel to assist in the fight against the Islamic State in the region and expressed hope that especially the U.S. would halt its troop withdrawal from Syria. The continued presence of American forces as a small peacekeeping force could somewhat mitigate criticism of Donald Trump for the premature withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria. A senior American official told Reuters: "This sends a clear message to allies and other coalition countries that the U.S. will remain in the region with a certain level of military capability." So far, the position of European governments has been that they will remain in the region only if the U.S. continues its military presence. The Belgian Defense Minister stated on Thursday before meeting with the acting U.S. Secretary of Defense that the continuation of troop deployment in Syria is conditional on the results of negotiations with the U.S. Turkey has called for the establishment of a buffer zone in northern Syria with logistical support from the U.S. and its allies, aimed at clearing these areas of Syrian Kurdish forces, which Ankara considers terrorists. The U.S. has not yet disclosed exactly where this "peacekeeping" force will be stationed. American officials have also referred to the continued deployment of U.S. forces at the Tanf military base on the Syria-Iraq border. The Tanf military base was established by American forces and the international coalition when the Islamic State group still controlled a large part of eastern Syria near the Iraqi border. However, since the defeat of the militants in these areas, the U.S. has maintained this base as part of its strategy to counter the strengthening of Iranian military presence in the region. American officials told Reuters that Patrick Shanahan, the acting U.S. Secretary of Defense, discussed Syria with defense ministers from several countries last week on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. Apparently, the discussions focused on the necessity of reaching some form of security agreement for northeastern Syria following the withdrawal of American forces. Mr. Shanahan is scheduled to meet with the Turkish Defense Minister on Friday.