On February 18, according to revelations from a senior US official, President Donald Trump's administration is carrying out a breakthrough change in military strategy in the Middle East.
The decision to withdraw troops was made when the government of new Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa showed sufficient capacity to control and operate operations to destroy extremist militant groups on its own.
This official affirmed that maintaining a large-scale US military force in Syria is no longer necessary. However, Washington still maintains a state of high vigilance and is ready to react quickly to any threat from the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) organization in the region.
The troop withdrawal process is being carried out in transitional phases. Previously, The Wall Street Journal also reported that the Pentagon is in the process of completing the withdrawal of all approximately 1,000 US troops currently stationed in Syria. Both the US Department of Defense and the Central Command (CENTCOM) are currently refusing to make official comments on this information.
Reality on the battlefield shows that the transfer of power is taking place very quickly. Just last week, the Syrian government army officially completely took over the strategic Al-Tanf military base from US forces. This move marks the end of a decade of continuous US military presence in the vital area of southeastern Syria.
This change in the situation stems from a historic agreement between the two countries. President Al-Sharaa has agreed to join the US-led anti-IS coalition. In return, his administration has been lifted a series of strict economic sanctions by Washington, and has received political support to take over areas in northeastern Syria that were previously controlled by Kurdish forces.
However, the dark shadow of terrorism has not been completely erased. IS remnants still maintain a dangerous presence in many remote areas. In December last year, this militant group conducted a bloody ambush in the ancient city of Palmyra, taking the lives of 2 US soldiers and 1 interpreter.
To respond and pave the way for a safe withdrawal process, US forces launched large-scale sweep operations. In just the past 2 months, the US Air Force and special forces have bombed more than 100 targets, and killed and captured more than 50 IS gunmen, delivering a strong blow to the remaining network of this organization.
