Middle East
“Broadly speaking, the rest of America’s allies in the region are likely wondering whether they, too, could be cast aside this easily. This decision does not reflect well on American foreign policy,” says Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
It remains unlikely that any political components of the White House’s Mideast peace plan will be released.
“Having seen the experience of the evacuation of Gaza, I don’t believe that there is a realistic plan that can be implemented that would require anyone—Jew or Arab—to be forced to leave their home,” said U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman.
It states that “an abrupt withdrawal of United States military personnel from certain parts of Northeast Syria is beneficial to adversaries of the United States government, including Syria, Iran and Russia.”
Kurdish scholar Diliman Abdulkader said the Kurds “defeated [the ISIS] caliphate, protected ethnic and religious minorities, brought stability to a third of Syria ... 11,000 angels sacrificed their lives so the rest of the world can be at peace.”
Afterwards, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to visit Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss regional security and the U.S. withdrawal from Syria.
“We cannot allow the Russians to continue to grow in influence by growing on the world stage,” said New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker.
Fears of a potential military conflict with Iran may have opened the door to a Saudi-Iranian dialogue against the backdrop of a rethink of U.S. military logistics.
Hundreds of protesters decry the aggression by Turkey and demand that the Israeli government provide humanitarian aid to Kurdish forces.
Sanctions target Turkey’s defense, interior and energy ministries • U.S. also raises tariffs on Turkish steel imports to 50 percent and cancels negotiations on “$100 billion” trade deal.
“The troop commitment in northeastern Syria was immensely helpful to U.S. security and U.S. interests,” he continued. “Terrorists groups, as you know, after you defeat them on the physical battlefield, they just don’t go away,” said former U.S. National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster.
The Trump administration said that 50 to 100 U.S. special forces troops would withdraw from northeastern Syria; however, the United States isn’t entirely withdrawing from the country.
