Esper: ‘US Military Withdrawal from Kobane Will Take Another Week’

Despite grand announcements by US President Donald Trump of “bringing our troops home from Syria,” relatively very little has been done by the US, including positions maintained around the embattled northern city of Ras Al Ayn (Kobane).

Trump’s initial announcement was on Oct 7th, and to much fanfare – only the grand withdrawal never happened.

After being assailed by Republican Senators Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell, with GOP and Democrat warhawks alike urging Trump to “exercise American leadership” and warned that any “precipitous withdrawal” would somehow benefit Russia, Iran, and worst of all – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Neocon and war lobbyists also promulgated the nonsensical argument that by withdrawing US troops and allowing Syria and Russia to clean-up the area – would somehow ‘increase the risk of ISIS regrouping.’

Then the President proceeded to quietly rearranged his set-pieces, as well as his talking points. Soon after, the White House proudly announced that the bulk of US troops would in fact be staying in Syria, ostensibly “to guard Syria’s oil,” supposedly from ISIS, by clearly this latest phase of the illegal US occupation is designed to deprive Syria of its own natural resources.

The week, even more delays were announced, leading many to raise the question of whether or not the US is just biding its time in order to create events on the ground which will ‘justify’ their continued illegal occupation of Syria…

U.S. forces patrolling on the outskirts of the Syrian town of Manbij, in Aleppo province, Syria (Image Source: ARAB 24 NETWORK/AP via Stars & Stripes)

Al Masdar News reports…

BEIRUT, LEBANON (11:10 P.M.) – The U.S. military withdrawal from the Kobane District of northern Syria will take “another week or so” to complete, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Wednesday, as the US military relocates and reduces its forces in Syria.

Esper said that when the partial withdrawal is complete, the U.S. military will still have about 600 troops in Syria, down from about a thousand before Trump ordered the withdrawal last month, according to the Reuters News Agency.

He said the United States was still supporting the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the Euphrates region of the country, despite the fact NATO ally Turkey regards the group and its allies from the People’s Protection Units (YPG) as a ‘terrorist’ entity.

“We are still partners of the SDF. We continue to help them,” he said, stressing the role of the troops in helping prevent the emergence of the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL/IS/Daesh) terrorist group.

On Wednesday, dozens of U.S. military vehicles were seen leaving the Sarrin base in the Kobane countryside for the oil rich region of eastern Syria.

READ MORE SYRIA NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Syria Files

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