‘No longer in the area’: US troops will neither help nor hamper Turkey’s cross-border operation in Syria
The US will neither support nor otherwise be involved in the looming Turkish military operation in northern Syria, nor will it interfere, as American troops will no longer be in the “immediate area,” the White House has announced.
The US has apparently achieved its immediate goal in the region – no less than single-handedly defeating the Islamic State terrorist group and capturing hundreds of their fighters, obviously – and will now generously allow Turkey to take over, Donald Trump’s spokesperson announced following the US leader’s call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday.
The United States will not support or be involved in the operation, and United States forces, having defeated the ISIS territorial 'caliphate,' will no longer be in the immediate area,the White House statement read.
Without warning, a US military move that would have been announced via a speech to the nation is announced in a 2-paragraph statement from the White House just before 11 p.m. ET on a Sunday night. https://t.co/4uOZ2szq2j
— Micah Grimes (@MicahGrimes) October 7, 2019
The apparent withdrawal of US troops from the strategic region that Washington has been clinging to for so long was framed as a huge victory for the American taxpayer.
BTW: This is the kind of 💩 show @aaronstein1 has assessed and predicted when earlier today he said the US might "head for the exits."https://t.co/wMF0Fpjdx6
— Ben Watson (@natsecwatson) October 7, 2019
“Turkey will now be responsible for all ISIS fighters in the area captured over the past two years… The US will not hold them for what could be many years and great cost to the United States taxpayer,” the two-paragraph statement said, for the second time reminding Americans that it was the US and only the US that defeated the spooky ‘caliphate.’
Also on rt.com ‘Down with the occupation’? Syrian Kurds protest near US-occupied military base seeking protection from Turkish occupation (VIDEO)Nothing was said about the fate of Syrian Kurds, who are considered to be the US' closest allies on the ground, ever since the so-called ‘moderate rebels’ turned out to be a PR disaster. Turkey sees these Kurdish militias as a national security threat that needs to be ‘tackled.’
Kurdish protesters rallied in front of US-occupied military outposts over the weekend, pleading for protection from Turkey’s looming occupation. If anyone bothered to ask Damascus, though, it would probably say that both occupational forces are equally illegal and in violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Also on rt.com Turkish troops & armored vehicles amass at Syrian border after Erdogan announces IMMINENT incursion (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!
