As the Pentagon announced the drawdown of US troops in Iraq this week, the American military is shifting its focus to the ISIS threat emanating from neighboring Syria.
“We’re ending the forever war in Iraq,” a senior US defense official told reporters on a call. The official said the burden of countering ISIS inside Iraq will now fall to Baghdad. “We’ve trained them for a decade, and they have the capability to counter ISIS, and they have the will,” the official added.
The troop reduction stems from the US-Iraq Strategic Framework Agreement signed last year, which transitions the partnership into a more conventional bilateral security relationship, similar to arrangements Washington maintains with dozens of other countries. Under the deal, the international coalition to defeat ISIS, Combined Special Operations Joint Task Force–Levant, will consolidate operations and relocate to Erbil. The Kurdish capital will also host the remaining US troop presence, which will focus on counter-ISIS missions in Syria.
US forces that remain in Baghdad will serve in bilateral security cooperation roles. While the exact number of troops is still under discussion with the Iraqi government, officials said fewer than 2,000 US personnel will remain once the transition is complete.
Concerns in Syria
The senior defense official said the US presence in Syria remains conditions-based but has been in a “status quo” posture for the past four to five months. Currently, more than 900 but fewer than 2,000 US troops are stationed in Syria, with no withdrawals during this period.
Asked if this was due to fears of instability, the official declined to characterize it that way but acknowledged that ISIS remains a significant threat. The official pointed to Syria’s relatively new government, in power for less than a year. “There’s fragility associated with the new government that’s very well understood, including articulated by the government itself. And, so, we’re just watching to see how the government forms and what the security apparatus looks like before we make any other decisions with respect to US forces.”
Despite being diminished from its peak a decade ago, ISIS still maintains fighters and operational capabilities inside Syria. The Pentagon estimates around 9,000 ISIS militants are currently detained there, alongside 29,000 displaced persons in camps that pose risks of radicalization and recruitment.
“These camps are incubators for radicalization,” the official warned, urging foreign governments to repatriate their citizens. Washington has been calling on countries for years to take back nationals detained in northeast Syria.
A new development, the official revealed, is that the United Nations will take over management of the camps from NGOs. The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) will continue to provide security, with American support when needed.
The top US commander for the Middle East announced the creation of a Joint Repatriation Cell in northeast Syria last week to coordinate the return of foreign nationals from the camps.
Al Arabiya
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