The Defense Department revealed Thursday that the Biden administration has secretly more than doubled the number of U.S. troops in Syria from about 900 to about 2,000 over the past several months.
2022 DoD photo:
U.S. Army Soldiers, assigned to Charlie Battery, 1st Battalion, 134th Field Artillery Regiment, 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Ohio Army National Guard, supporting Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve, fire an M777 Howitzer during an operational rehearsal exercise at Mission Support Site Conoco, Syria, Dec. 4, 2022. Coalition forces conducted an operational exercise using M777 Howitzer in Syria to validate weapons systems and maintain crew proficiency & readiness. These exercises ensure the Coalition’s continued capability to support our partner forces and protect our Coalition forces. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Julio Hernandez)
Pentagon spokesman Air Force Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder told reporters at a briefing Thursday that he just learned that the number of troops in Syria had been increased in the months before Syrian dictator Bashar Assad was deposed by ‘rebel’ forces to help the mission against ISIS. Ryder said the new troops were on a ‘temporary’ deployment.
Biden Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder says he “recently learned” there are actually 2,000+ U.S. troops deployed in Syria — far more than the 900 they had previously announced. pic.twitter.com/MKlqO2ZlqS
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) December 19, 2024
Reporters pressed Ryder on the increase:
Trump wanted to remove US troops from Syria in his first as president after they defeated the ISIS caliphate, but faced enormous pushback from the Pentagon and foreign policy establishment. Trump ended up keeping a small presence to guard the oil fields as noted on the light blue section of this map of forces in Syria as of last week (map via Wikipedia):
Complete briefing (Ryder announced new troop numbers at the start):
Almost two weeks ago, just before Assad’s government fell, Trump warned that the U.S. should stay out of Syria’s civil war, posting on Truth Social, ” Syria is a mess, but is not our friend, & THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET IT PLAY OUT. DO NOT GET INVOLVED!”
Opposition fighters in Syria, in an unprecedented move, have totally taken over numerous cities, in a highly coordinated offensive, and are now on the outskirts of Damascus, obviously preparing to make a very big move toward taking out Assad. Russia, because they are so tied up in Ukraine, and with the loss there of over 600,000 soldiers, seems incapable of stopping this literal march through Syria, a country they have protected for years. This is where former President Obama refused to honor his commitment of protecting the RED LINE IN THE SAND, and all hell broke out, with Russia stepping in. But now they are, like possibly Assad himself, being forced out, and it may actually be the best thing that can happen to them. There was never much of a benefit in Syria for Russia, other than to make Obama look really stupid. In any event, Syria is a mess, but is not our friend, & THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET IT PLAY OUT. DO NOT GET INVOLVED!
Concerns have been raised that NATO ally Turkey may invade Syria. A Kurdish opposition leader wrote to President-elect Trump this week urging him to intervene with Turkey (Newsmax excerpt):
U.S. officials are alarmed that a buildup of Turkish troops and militias along the border with Syria could signal that a large-scale invasion into territory held by U.S.-backed Syrian Kurds is imminent.
Ilham Ahmed, an official in the Syrian Kurds’ civilian administration, wrote in a letter to President-elect Donald Trump that a Turkish military operation appeared likely, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday, adding that Ahmed urged Trump to press Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan against such a move.
The forces include militia fighters, Turkish uniformed commandos, and artillery concentrated near Kobani, a Kurdish-majority city in Syria on the northern border with Turkey, the Journal reported, citing unnamed U.S. officials. A Turkish cross-border operation could be imminent, one of the U.S. officials said.
Turkey’s goal is to “establish de facto control over our land before you take office, forcing you to engage with them as rulers of our territory,” Ahmed wrote to Trump in the letter viewed by the Journal. “If Turkey proceeds with its invasion, the consequences will be catastrophic.”
…Although Trump won’t take over from President Joe Biden until Jan. 20, Ahmed urged the president-elect to use his “unique approach to diplomacy” to persuade Erdogan to stop any planned operation.
“We believe you hold the power to prevent this catastrophe,” Ahmed wrote. “President Erdogan has listened to you before, and we trust he will heed your call again.”
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