The United States has started drawing down hundreds of troops from northeastern Syria, the New York Times reported on Thursday.
According to a report, the military is shuttering three of its eight small operating bases, reducing troop levels to about 1,400 from 2,000, citing two senior U.S. officials.
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(Photo: Haj Suleiman/Getty Images, IDF , AP/Matias Delacroix, Abdulaziz KETAZ / AFP, Mark Israel Salem, AP/ Alex Brandon )
According to one official, commanders have advised that at least 500 U.S. troops remain in Syria. However, President Donald Trump has expressed deep skepticism about maintaining any American military presence in the country.
The move aligns with Trump’s longstanding isolationist stance, which was influenced in part by Vice President J.D. Vance. Trump has repeatedly said, “This isn’t our war,” and the Pentagon has been preparing for the withdrawal for some time.
Israeli officials have opposed the move and made several efforts to prevent it, but were recently informed that those efforts had failed. Despite the setback, Israel’s defense establishment continues to exert pressure on Washington to reconsider or limit the drawdown.
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Erdogan. Israel fears that tensions with Turkey will increase
(Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
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A senior Israeli official estimated that if the withdrawal proceeds, it would likely be only partial—though even that, Israel argues, could destabilize the region. Israeli defense officials fear that a reduced U.S. presence would embolden Turkey, which is openly seeking to expand its control in the area, particularly after the fall of the Assad regime.
American troops are currently deployed in several strategic locations across eastern and northern Syria, where they serve as a stabilizing force. Their withdrawal, Israeli officials warn, could increase Turkey’s ambitions to seize more strategic military assets on the ground.
IRANIAN NUCLEAR NEGOTIATIONS
While the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime has reduced several regional threats—such as pro-Iranian militias and Russian troops who once supported his government—the threat from ISIS remains significant, especially in northeastern Syria, where most U.S. forces are stationed.