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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Top US general dismisses report of 1,000 forces remaining in Syria
2019-03-19
[Rudaw] The US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff described a media report that said the United States is planning to keep 1,000 forces in Syria as "factually incorrect."

"There has been no change to the plan announced in February and we continue to implement the president's direction to draw down US forces to a residual presence," added Gen. Joseph Dunford in a statement released on Sunday night.

Dunford was refuting a report by The Wall Street Journal published on Sunday. Citing US anonymous officials,
Oh. Well if it was anonymous officials...
the article reported that the United States would keep 1,000 military forces in Syria.

The figure represents nearly half of the forces the Pentagon claims are in the country supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against ISIS in eastern Syria and at the At Tanf garrison on the Iraq-Syria-Jordan border.

US troops remaining in Syria is at odds with US President Donald Trump
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States...
's announcement in December of a full troop withdrawal.

The report added that the decision to keep troops in Syria comes as The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
, Kurdish factions, Europe, and the United States have failed to establish a safe zone between Ottoman Turkish forces and the predominately-Kurdish SDF.

Additionally, the source reportedly told the WSJ that keeping 1,000 forces in Syria was required because European and regional allies have failed to pledge to deploy their forces in the country, thus allowing for a US draw down.

Dunford struck a positive note, claiming that military planning between Washington and their NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and structure....
allies in Ankara have been "productive."

"Further, we continue to conduct detailed military planning with the Ottoman Turkish General Staff to address Ottoman Turkish security concerns along the Turkey-Syria border. Planning to date has been productive and we have an initial concept that will be refined in the coming days," he added in his statement.

The SDF have repeatedly hinted that they are close to routing a remaining 5,000 ISIS fighters and their families from their final bastion east of the Euphrates in besieged Baghouz.

However,
denial ain't just a river in Egypt...
the final stage of Jazira Storm has dragged on since May 2018 and the SDF and coalition say they have slowed the operation because the Death Eaters are using human shields.

US Special Representative for Syria Engagement James Jeffrey said at the Munich Security Conference on February 17 that the US withdrawal would not be abrupt.
Posted by:trailing wife

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