Oil fields mission raises concern

Securing Syrian oil adds new complexity

WASHINGTON >> By claiming a right to Syria’s oil, President Donald Trump has added more complexity — as well as additional U.S. forces and time — to an American military mission he has twice declared he was ending so the troops could come home.

Extending the mission to secure eastern Syria’s oilfields happens to fit neatly with the Pentagon’s view — supported by some Trump allies in Congress — that a full withdrawal now could hasten a revival of the Islamic State group, even after the extremists lost their leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, in a U.S. raid.

The military acknowledged on Thursday that an Army unit with armored vehicles, including Bradley infantry carriers, is now operating in the Deir el-Zour oil region. It did not say how many soldiers are being added there, but officials have said the eventual force there likely will be about 500, including roughly 200 who had been there even before Trump was persuaded to revise his plan for a near-total withdrawal, which he announced on Oct. 14.

Trump has offered varying descriptions of the military’s role in eastern Syria. On Oct. 25 he said, “We’ve secured the oil, and, therefore, a small number of U.S. troops will remain in the area where they have the oil.” Three days later, he went further, declaring the oil to be America’s.

“We’re keeping the oil — remember that,” he said in Chicago. “I’ve always said that: ‘Keep the oil.’ We want to keep the oil. Forty-five million dollars a month? Keep the oil.”

White House officials since then have declined to explain what Trump meant by “we’re keeping the oil” or his estimate of its value. PentaOIL >> PAGE 2