White House appears to delay Trump’s order for Syrian withdrawal

On Wednesday morning, the White House seemed to postpone orders that President Donald Trump had issued the day before instructing US troops to begin a withdrawal from Syria.

WASHINGTON DC, United States (Kurdistan 24) – On Wednesday morning, the White House seemed to postpone orders that President Donald Trump had issued the day before instructing US troops to begin a withdrawal from Syria.

“The United States and our partners remain committed to eliminating the small ISIS presence in Syria that our forces have not already eradicated,” a White House statement said. “We will continue to consult with our allies and friends.”

On Tuesday, meeting with top national security officials, Trump told them that he wanted US forces to leave Syria very soon.

Trump publicly repeated those remarks later in the day. “I want to get out,” he told the White House press corps. “I want to bring our troops back home.”

Trump’s remarks on Syria followed comments last week, which surprised even US officials, as he told an Ohio audience, “We'll be coming out of Syria, like very soon. Let the other people take care of it now.”

The latest twist in Trump’s position—reassuring allies that the US would not leave Syria abruptly—followed phone conversations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Both Israel and France oppose a quick US withdrawal, as does Saudi Arabia. Jerusalem and Riyadh are particularly concerned about an Iranian land bridge to the Mediterranean.

Responding to Trump’s initial announcement, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Time magazine last week, “We believe American troops should stay [in Syria] for at least the mid-term, if not the long-term.”

As Trump reiterated his position Tuesday, he also stated, “Saudi Arabia is very interested in our decision, and I said, ‘Well, you know, you want us to stay, maybe you’re going to have to pay.’”

Some observers have seen that as the true objective behind Trump’s statements.

US officials have been operating on a very different assumption than what Trump has said: namely, that the US will remain in Syria for some time to come.

At a conference on Tuesday at the US Institute of Peace, Gen. Joseph Votel, CENTCOM commander, explained just that.

Votel stressed the crucial importance of the fourth stage of counter-insurgency warfare: the “stabilization phase,” in which basic infrastructure is repaired, so that refugees can return to their homes and a form of governance is established to maintain order and prevent the insurgents’ reemergence.

Votel also explained, “In many regards, the military aspect” is “the easier part.” In the long run, stabilization “is much more challenging,” he said.

Votel’s view was echoed by the other panelists: Brett McGurk, Special Presidential Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, and Mark Green, USAID Administrator.

Addressing the same conference earlier in the day, Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Representative to the United States, expressed a similar perspective.

A sudden US withdrawal from Syria would send “a frightening message” to US allies in the region, Abdul Rahman said, unless some explanation was provided.

Americans, however, have grown weary of the open-ended US involvement in Middle East conflicts that has followed the 9/11 attacks.

Trump raised that issue on the campaign trail and made his first, clear public complaint as president earlier this year when he spoke about seven trillion dollars the US has spent in the Middle East since 9/11.

“What a mistake,” Trump said. “We’re trying to build roads” and “fix bridges that are falling down, and we have a hard time getting the money. It’s crazy,” he said in mid-February.

Trump repeated that complaint on Tuesday, (although The Washington Post says the sum is really half that).

Trump has certainly made the point that he does not like the continued US presence in Syria and wants it to be as limited as possible. But the ultimate outcome of these successive shifts in US policy remains to be seen.

Turkey hosted a tripartite summit on the future of Syria on Wednesday which included Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

Rouhani suggested that the US would, despite everything, remain in Syria. Asked in a press conference about the US position, Rouhani responded that Washington just wanted more support for the mission.

“One day they say they want to pull out of Syria,” Rouhani replied. “Then it turns out that they are craving money.”

“They have told Arab countries to give them money to remain in Syria,” he said.

Tehran would welcome a US withdrawal, as Iran would step into the vacuum. However, Rouhani took the opportunity to take a jab at Iran’s regional rival, Saudi Arabia, as well as the US.

Turkey would probably also welcome a US withdrawal. That would facilitate Ankara’s efforts to oust the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces from the territory they now control in northeastern Syria.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan responded to the question in a fashion that could be understood as encouraging the US President in his wish to leave Syria.

Erdogan echoed Trump, emphasizing the sizable sum of money that the US has spent in the region since the 9/11 attacks.

“My brother Rouhani is not saying the amount of money needed,” Erdogan said. “About seven billion dollars—pardon, seven trillion dollars have been spent there. That is a lot of investment.”

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany