Anton Lavrov, a military analyst, writes in the pro-Putin Russian newspaper Izvestia that the withdrawal of US troops from northeast Syria will mainly affect the fate of the Kurds (via BBC Monitoring). He notes that the US has provided the YPG with armored vehicles and antitank missiles and a great deal of ammunition. These medium […]
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Syria
Abandoned by Trump, Syrian-Kurdish YPG Closes in on Last ISIL Bastions
Beirut, Lebanon | AFP | – Smoke billows after bombings near Hajin, in eastern Syria, on December 15, 2018 Kurdish-led forces made fresh gains against jihadists defending their eastern Syria stronghold Monday, forcing hundreds of people to flee the fighting, a war monitor said. The Syrian Democratic Forces, with aerial support from the US-led coalition, […]
Top 6 Players in Syria affected by US Departure
Beirut, Lebanon | AFP | – US President Donald Trump’s decision last week to pull troops out of Syria could have far-reaching repercussions for the multitude of parties involved in the conflict. Turkey After a call with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Trump appeared to be passing on responsibility for the fight against the […]
France’s Macron slams Trump as Unreliable Ally over Syria Withdrawal
N’Djamena, Chad | AFP | – French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday criticised US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw American forces from Syria, saying “an ally must be reliable”. In a sign of the growing diplomatic rift between the two leaders, Macron said “I deeply regret the decision” by Trump to pull out US […]
What Trump Ousting of SecDef Mattis Means for Russia, Syria & Afghanistan
By Scott Lucas | – The last adult in the Trump White House playground has gone – and the president is throwing his toys around. James Mattis, as defence secretary, was one of three retired generals in the Trump administration whose hope was to contain an ill-informed, temperamental, and unpredictable president. Now they’re all gone: […]
With Trump leaving, Syrian Kurds seeking Support of Damascus, Moscow against Turkey
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Secretary of Defense James Mattis resigned on Thursday in part because he felt his president was violating the code of the Marines, that no man should be left behind. In abruptly pulling out of Syria, Trump was abandoning the Syrian Kurds, the only allies the US could find in the […]
Putin: ISIL Defeated; “Right” for “unneeded” US Military to Depart Syria
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Sarah Sanders, Trump’s spokesperson, alleged that the Russians are unhappy with Trump decision to get out of Syria. As usual, Ms. Sanders is building sandcastles in the sky with no foundation. BBC Monitoring reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke at a news conference on Dec. 20 on Rossiya 1 […]
A New Middle East: Winners and Losers from Trump’s Abrupt Syria Withdrawal
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump shook up the Washington establishment and Middle Eastern and world politics on Wednesday by abruptly announcing by Tweet a full and immediate withdrawal of US military forces from northeast Syria. Trump’s motives for what he does are never easy to fathom. He may have been driven by a desire […]
Defeated by Russia and Iran, US Throws in Towel on Syria Regime Change
Washington, DC | AFP | – The United States said Monday it was no longer seeking to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad but renewed warnings it would not fund reconstruction unless the regime is “fundamentally different.” James Jeffrey, the US special representative in Syria, said that Assad needed to compromise as he had not yet […]
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