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ARAB AND WORLD

Sat 09 Nov 2024 12:41 pm - Jerusalem Time

Robert Kennedy: Trump intends to withdraw US forces from Syria

As soon as Donald Trump was announced as the winner of the US elections, reports, predictions and speculations about his future plans began to emerge.


The US military presence in Syria was one of those issues, with reports indicating that Trump intends to withdraw US forces from northern Syria, according to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who announced his support for Trump’s election campaign and is expected to play a major role in his government.


Kennedy said President-elect Donald Trump wants to withdraw US troops from northern Syria rather than leave them as “cannon fodder if fighting breaks out between Türkiye and Kurdish militants.”


Kennedy added that Trump expressed his intentions regarding northern Syria and expressed his concern about the long-term US military presence in Syria.


Sohail Khan, a Republican political advisor, told Alhurra that Trump was clear in his campaign when he said he wanted a strong US military that would protect US interests and territory.


He said Trump played an important role in his first term in achieving this goal when he asked Congress to approve more funding for the US military.

Khan added that Trump is cautious and does not want to expose American forces to danger as happened previously in Iraq, Vietnam and Afghanistan, and that the current circumstances do not require the American army to remain in the region.


Khan said that Trump ultimately wants to withdraw troops from the Middle East, but not as hastily as happened in Afghanistan. Rather, he will set a timetable and be cautious in doing so, while emphasizing the protection of local communities in the countries of the region.

Calvin Dark, a member of the Democratic Party, ruled out in an interview with Alhurra TV that Trump would withdraw US forces from Syria, referring to Trump’s previous experiences when he spoke about many things, but they were just “talk” and were not translated into decisions, according to his expression.

Dark explained that Kennedy's statements cannot be taken as a final decision by Trump, explaining that the file of withdrawing American forces is complex and requires coordination with US allies such as Türkiye.

Calvin Dark pointed out that US President-elect Donald Trump "now has no real military strategy."

The United States has about 2,500 troops in Iraq and about 900 in neighboring Syria, as part of a coalition it formed in 2014 to fight ISIS.

In a report published last January, the United Nations said it estimated that the extremist group still had "between 3,000 and 5,000 fighters" in Iraq and Syria.

The US Department of Defense Coordinator for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, Alan Matney, revealed that the coalition is adopting new strategies and plans to confront the organization’s threats around the world.

Matni said, according to a report published by the Pentagon website, that ISIS no longer "rules territory," but the ideology that the organization boasts of still exists, and there is a need for an international coalition to confront these threats.

Observers believe that the strategy of disengagement and regional stability includes Trump's approach to Syria, which is summarized in reducing the American military presence despite the strategic importance of those forces in the fight against ISIS, warning of the potential risks that this withdrawal may entail to stability and the possibility of the re-emergence of extremist groups.

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Robert Kennedy: Trump intends to withdraw US forces from Syria

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