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CNA
7 days ago
- General
- CNA
US to scale down its military bases in Syria, envoy says
ANKARA: The United States will scale down its military presence in Syria to one base from eight and US policies will shift in the country "because none of them worked" over the last century, the new US special envoy has said. Thomas Barrack, who President Donald Trump named special envoy last month shortly after he unexpectedly lifted US sanctions on Syria, made the comments in an interview with Turkish broadcaster NTV late on Monday (Jun 2). The US military has about 2,000 US troops in Syria, mostly in the northeast. They are working with local forces to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State, which in 2014 seized large swathes of Iraq and Syria but was later pushed back. Since rebels ousted Syria's former President Bashar al-Assad in December, the United States and other countries are re-engaging with Damascus under new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa. Barrack, also US ambassador to Turkey, raised the American flag over the ambassador's residence in Damascus last week for the first time since 2012. When asked how the Trump administration will shape its Syria policy and whether the US is considering troop withdrawal from Syria, Barrack said: "What I can assure you is that our current Syria policy will not be close to the Syria policy of the last 100 years, because none of these have worked." Reducing the number of bases to one from eight was an important part of that shift, he said, according to an interview transcript. Two security sources in bases where US troops are deployed told Reuters in April that military equipment and vehicles had already moved out of eastern Deir el-Zor and were being consolidated in the province of Hasakah. One of the sources said the consolidation plan involved pulling all US troops out of Deir el-Zor province. A US State Department official said separately that the military presence would be reduced "if and when appropriate" based on conditions, adding troops are routinely calibrated based on operational needs and contingencies. Barrack said that the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were a US ally and a "very important factor" for the US Congress, and that directing them to integrate into a new Syrian government was also very important. "Everyone needs to be reasonable in their expectations," he said. The SDF is the main ally in a US coalition against Islamic State militants in Syria. It is spearheaded by the YPG militia, which Ankara sees as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The PKK decided to disband last month after a 40-year conflict with the Turkish state. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said last week that the SDF was using "stalling tactics", despite a deal with the Syrian government to integrate into Syria's armed forces.
Reuters
7 days ago
- General
- Reuters
US to scale down its military bases in Syria, envoy says
ANKARA, June 3 (Reuters) - The United States will scale down its military presence in Syria to one base from eight and U.S. policies will shift in the country "because none of them worked" over the last century, the new U.S. special envoy has said. Thomas Barrack, who President Donald Trump named special envoy last month shortly after he unexpectedly lifted U.S. sanctions on Syria, made the comments in an interview with Turkish broadcaster NTV late on Monday. The U.S. military has about 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria, mostly in the northeast. They are working with local forces to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State, which in 2014 seized large swathes of Iraq and Syria but was later pushed back. Since rebels ousted Syria's former President Bashar al-Assad in December, the United States and other countries are re-engaging with Damascus under new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa. Barrack, also U.S. ambassador to Turkey, raised the American flag over the ambassador's residence in Damascus last week for the first time since 2012. When asked how the Trump administration will shape its Syria policy and whether the U.S. is considering troop withdrawal from Syria, Barrack said: "What I can assure you is that our current Syria policy will not be close to the Syria policy of the last 100 years, because none of these have worked." Reducing the number of bases to one from eight was an important part of that shift, he said, according to an interview transcript. Two security sources in bases where U.S. troops are deployed told Reuters in April that military equipment and vehicles had already moved out of eastern Deir el-Zor and were being consolidated in the province of Hasakah. One of the sources said the consolidation plan involved pulling all U.S. troops out of Deir el-Zor province. Barrack said that the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were a U.S. ally and a "very important factor" for the U.S. Congress, and that directing them to integrate into a new Syrian government was also very important. "Everyone needs to be reasonable in their expectations," he said. The SDF is the main ally in a U.S. coalition against Islamic State militants in Syria. It is spearheaded by the YPG militia, which Ankara sees as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The PKK decided to disband last month after a 40-year conflict with the Turkish state. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said last week that the SDF was using "stalling tactics", despite a deal with the Syrian government to integrate into Syria's armed forces.
Malay Mail
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Trump Tower Damascus? Syria seeks to charm US president for sanctions relief
Syria trying to woo Washington for sanctions relief, engagement Pro-Trump activist says Sharaa making a business-focused pitch Chances of a Trump-Sharaa meeting remain slim US still internally deliberating Syria policy, no consensus yet DAMASCUS, May 13 — A Trump Tower in Damascus, a detente with Israel and US access to Syria's oil and gas are part of Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa's strategic pitch to try to get face time with US President Donald Trump during his trip to the Middle East, according to several sources familiar with the push to woo Washington. Jonathan Bass, an American pro-Trump activist, who on April 30 met Sharaa for four hours in Damascus, along with Syrian activists and Gulf Arab states has been trying to arrange a landmark — if highly unlikely — meeting between the two leaders this week on the sidelines of Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Syria has struggled to implement conditions set out by Washington for relief from US sanctions, which keep the country cut off from the global financial system and make economic recovery extremely challenging after 14 years of grinding war. Bass hopes that getting Trump into a room with Sharaa, who still remains a US-designated terrorist over his al-Qaeda past, could help soften the Republican President and his administration's thinking on Damascus and cool an increasingly tense relationship between Syria and Israel. Part of the bet for the effort is based on Trump's history of breaking with longstanding US foreign policy taboos, such as when he met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the demilitarised zone between North and South Korea in 2019. 'Sharaa wants a business deal for the future of his country,' Bass said, noting it could cover energy exploitation, cooperation against Iran and engagement with Israel. 'He told me he wants a Trump Tower in Damascus. He wants peace with his neighbours. What he told me is good for the region, good for Israel,' said Bass. Sharaa also shared what he saw as a personal connection with Trump: both have been shot at, narrowly surviving attempts on their lives, Bass said. Syrian officials and a presidency media official did not respond to a request for comment. Sharaa spoke with Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Sunday, according to the Syrian presidency. A person close to Sharaa said afterwards a Trump-Sharaa meeting remained possible in Saudi Arabia, but would not confirm whether Sharaa had received an invitation. 'Whether or not the meeting takes place won't be known until the last moment,' the person said. Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa attends an interview with Reuters at the presidential palace, in Damascus, Syria March 10, 2025. — Reuters pic 'Push underway' To be clear, a Trump-Sharaa meeting during the US president's visit to the region is widely seen as unlikely, given Trump's packed schedule, his priorities and lack of consensus within Trump's team on how to tackle Syria. A source familiar with ongoing efforts said a high-level Syria-US meeting was set to take place in the region during the week of Trump's visit, but that it would not be between Trump and Sharaa. 'There is definitely a push underway,' said Charles Lister, head of the Syria Initiative at the Middle East Institute. 'The idea is that getting to Trump directly is the best avenue because there are just too many ideologues within the administration to get past.' Washington is yet to formulate and articulate a coherent Syria policy, but the administration has increasingly been viewing relations with Damascus from a perspective of counterterrorism, three sources including a US official familiar with the policy-making said. That approach was illustrated by the make-up of the US delegation in a meeting last month between Washington and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani in New York, which included a senior counterterrorism official from the State Department, two of the sources said. US officials conveyed to Shibani that Washington found steps taken by Damascus to be insufficient, particularly on the US demand to remove foreign fighters from senior posts in the army and expel as many of them as possible, the sources said. The US Treasury has since conveyed its own demands on the Syrian government, bringing the number of conditions to more than a dozen, one of the sources said. The US State Department declined to disclose who attended the meeting from the US side and said it does not comment on private diplomatic discussions. White House National Security Council spokesperson James Hewitt said the actions of Syria's interim authorities would determine the future US support or possible sanctions relief. 'Olive branch' A key aim of Syria's overtures to Washington is communicating that it poses no threat to Israel, which has escalated airstrikes in Syria since the country's rebels-turned rulers ousted former strongman Bashar al-Assad last year. Israel's ground forces have occupied territory in southwestern Syria while the government has lobbied the US to keep Syria decentralised and isolated. Israel has said it aims to protect Syrian minority groups. Syria has rejected the strikes as escalatory. Sharaa last week confirmed indirect negotiations with Israel aimed at calming tensions, after Reuters reported that such talks had occurred via the UAE. In a separate effort, Bass said Sharaa told him to pass messages between Syria and Israel that may have led to a direct meeting between Israeli and Syrian officials. But Israel soon resumed strikes, including one near the presidential palace, which it framed as a message to Syria's rulers to protect the country's Druze minority amid clashes with Sunni militants. 'Sharaa sent the Israelis an olive branch. Israel sent missiles,' Bass said. 'We need Trump to help sort this relationship out.' — Reuters
