Author: Unknown
Published on: 06/01/2025 | 00:00:00
AI Summary:
Joe Biden administration says it is taking a wait-and-see approach to the fledgling government in Syria. Since rebels toppled longtime leader Bashar al-Assad in early December, the US has maintained it will keep its deployment of troops in northeast Syria, where US personnel continue to support the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) a Pentagon spokesperson denied there were plans to establish "some type of base or presence" there. The Biden administration’s public messaging has stressed one defining priority in maintaining a troop presence in Syria. Defeat ISIS was first launched in 2014 under US President Barack Obama. Turkiye has floated a more comprehensive takeover of the anti-ISIL mission. The Syrian wing of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is considered a “terrorist” group by both Ankara and Washington. US troop presence in Syria has, in part, aimed to ensure fossil fuel fields stayed out of the hands of both ISIL and al-Assad government. In 2019, then-US President Trump directly addressed that aim, saying the US had “left troops behind only for the oil” A Pentagon official later said that “securing of the oil fields is a subordinate task” to defeating ISIL in Syria. Possible pressure from Israel Washington could also seek to influence the tact the new Syrian government takes with US foes like Iran Israel’s interests are going to be to keep Syria as weak, divided and poor as possible. But that pressure may run counter to US interests, Landis noted. The future and Trump Then there is the question of the pending Trump administration. Trump appeared to praise Ankara for its support of the rebel ousting of al-Assad. Some observers speculate that Trump may be more open to turning over anti-ISIL operations than his predecessor.
Original: 1573 words Summary: 299 words Percent reduction: 80.99%