Prep starts to pull out of Syria
Military leaders caught off guard about move
WASHINGTON — Military leaders were scrambling Thursday to devise a swift but safe departure of troops from Syria, as lawmakers appealed to President Donald Trump to reverse a withdrawal order that rattled Washington’s allies and was a key factor in the resignation of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis later in the day.
Defense officials said U.S. airstrikes would continue until all the approximately 2,000 U.S. troops are out of Syria, but it was unclear whether the air campaign would then end.
Officials said it might depend on whether France and other coalition partners keep ground troops in Syria after the Americans leave. A continued presence of allied troops working with local Syrians might compel the U.S. to contribute air cover.
The Pentagon, roiled first by the withdrawal order from Trump and then the abrupt resignation of Mattis, offered no information about how the withdrawal will happen or how long it will take.
Two officials speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal planning said Gen. Joseph Votel, head of U.S. Central Command, will submit a comprehensive withdrawal plan to top Pentagon officials in coming days.
One official said military commanders are concerned that the pullout will leave their Syrian Kurdish allies in the lurch.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said on Thursday that Mattis had told him he is worried about the Kurds and this is not the right time to leave.
“I won’t get into conversations between Mattis and the president, but I will tell you what he told me: He thought that the time was not right to leave,” Graham said at a Capitol Hill news conference.
Mattis believes that “the day we leave it’s going to be open season on every Kurd who’s supported us,” he said.
The militants still hold villages and towns along the Euphrates River, where they have resisted weeks of attacks by the U.s.-supported Syrian Democratic Forces to drive them out. The pocket is home to about 15,000 people, among them 2,000 IS fighters, according to U.S. military estimates.