ALBAWABA- The U.S. Department of Defense is preparing contingency plans for a potential withdrawal of American forces from Syria, according to senior defense officials cited by NBC News.
Officials revealed that President Donald Trump and his close advisors have recently shown renewed interest in pulling U.S. troops out of Syria.
As a result, the Pentagon has begun drafting withdrawal plans with timelines ranging from 30 to 90 days. When asked for comment, a Pentagon spokesperson declined to confirm or deny these reports.
During a press conference last Thursday, Trump hinted at a forthcoming decision regarding the U.S. military presence in Syria but provided no specifics.
He reiterated that the United States is not heavily invested in Syria, emphasizing that Washington has enough challenges of its own and no need for further involvement in the region.
This is not the first time Trump has pursued a troop withdrawal. In late 2019, he ordered then-Defense Secretary James Mattis to remove all U.S. forces from Syria.
Mattis opposed the move and ultimately resigned in protest. Although Trump initially withdrew a significant portion of troops, many were later redeployed, and a U.S. military presence has remained ever since.
In December, the Pentagon disclosed that around 2,000 American troops were stationed in Syria, more than double the previously reported figure of 900.
At the time, the Pentagon described 1,100 of these troops as "temporary rotational forces" deployed for 30- to 90-day periods, while the remaining 900 were considered "core forces" assigned for longer missions of up to a year.
The Pentagon insists that the U.S. mission in Syria is focused on countering ISIS and supporting local partners, particularly the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Reacting to the withdrawal reports, the SDF stated Wednesday that it had received no official communication regarding a U.S. pullout.
SDF spokesperson Farhad Shami warned in comments to Reuters that "ISIS and other hostile forces are waiting for a U.S. withdrawal to regain strength and return to the conditions of 2014."
