Some American troops will remain for the time being, the White House announced Thursday. In a one-sentence statement, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said: “A small peacekeeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for a period of time.”
The announcement came after a phone call between President Trump and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in which the two leaders agreed to create a “safe zone” in Syria.
In December, the White House said it would pull all 2,000 troops from Syria, a reversal of U.S. policy that reportedly was met with disapproval within the Pentagon, and prompted Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to resign in protest. Troops began withdrawing in January, sparking criticism that the U.S. was leaving before it had completely eradicated the Islamic State presence there.
At a security conference in Munich last week, the U.S. encouraged its European allies to remain in Syria even as it was withdrawing.
A senior administration official told the Times that the decision to leave some troops in Syria was intended to encourage France and Britain to also keep troops there. European countries had “unanimously” told the U.S. they wouldn’t stay if American forces left, The Washington Post reported, quoting a senior administration official.