Trump instructs military to begin pullout
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has instructed military leaders to prepare to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria but has not set a date for them to do so, according to a senior administration official.
In a meeting with top national security officials Tuesday, Trump stressed that U.S. troops can be involved in current training tasks for local forces to ensure security in areas liberated from the Islamic State, the official said.
But the president said that the U.S. mission would not extend beyond the destruction of the Islamic State, and that he expects other countries, particularly wealthy Arab states in the region, to pick up the task of paying for ongoing stabilization and reconstruction, including sending their own troops, if necessary.
In a statement Wednesday morning, the White House said the “military mission … in Syria is coming to a rapid end, with ISIS being almost completely destroyed. The United States and our partners remain committed to eliminating the small ISIS presence in Syria that our forces have not already eradicated.”
The statement said, “We will continue to consult with our allies and friends regarding future plans. We expect countries in the region and beyond, plus the United Nations, to work toward peace and ensure that ISIS never re-emerges.” ISIS is an acronym for the Islamic State.
The decision, which Trump had telegraphed with recent statements saying it was time for the United States to “get out” of Syria, appeared to conflict with senior military officials who have repeatedly outlined the need for an ongoing military presence in Syria.
Those officials have stressed the importance of preventing both an Islamic State resurgence and increased territorial gains by Russian and Iranian-backed Syrian forces, and of giving the U.S. leverage in upcoming political talks to resolve Syria’s civil war.
In some ways, Trump has split the difference between his own desire for a quick exit, and military concerns about leaving a vacuum in Syria. By ordering a “conditions-based” departure, pegged to Islamic State destruction, but not giving a date, he has left wiggle-room for further discussion as to what that “destruction” means.
In comments Tuesday, he said the Syria mission was “close to 100 percent” accomplished, and said that “I want to get out. I want to bring our troops back home.” There are currently about 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria.
At the same time, Gen. Joseph Votel, head of the U.S. Central Command, agreed that “a lot of very good military progress has been made” but said “the hard part, I think, is in front of us.” Votel, speaking at the U.S. Institute of Peace on Tuesday, described the military’s counterIslamic State mission as including “stabilizing, consolidating gains” and “addressing long-terms issues of reconstruction” along with U.S. diplomatic and nonmilitary aid efforts.
Trump came to office promising to stay out of foreign wars, and calling for a U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. At the same time, however, he has repeatedly criticized former President Barack Obama for setting a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq, and said that the 2011 departure of U.S. troops from that country was ill-advised and left the door open for the rise of the Islamic State.