Iraq gives US troops from Syria four weeks in the country before they must leave
U.S. troops leaving Syria are only "transiting" through Iraqi territory and will depart within four weeks, the country's defense minister said Wednesday.
Najah al-Shammari spoke with The Associated Press following a meeting with Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper in Baghdad.
Esper arrived in Iraq for talks amid an apparent disagreement over whether U.S. troops withdrawing from northeastern Syria could now stay in Iraq.
The Pentagon chief said earlier this week that the troops leaving Syria would reposition to western Iraq to continue fighting the Islamic State. But on Tuesday, he appeared to backtrack, saying that American forces would stay only temporarily.
Iraq's military had opposed the move, saying that the newly arrived U.S. forces would have to leave...
Turkey, Russia announce joint patrols along Syria border in latest move against Kurds
Turkey and Russia announced Tuesday that both countries will soon start conducting joint security patrols along a border region in Syria following the removal of Kurdish forces there.
The announcement came following a meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russian military police and Syrian troops, as of Wednesday noon local time, will help push the Kurdish forces 18 miles back from Syria's border with Turkey within 150 hours.
Turkey and Russia, Lavrov says, would then start border patrols in Syria to keep the Kurds out and help facilitate the return of refugees there. The region is where American troops had been patrolling with Turkish forces two weeks ago before they pulled out -- and the deal struck Tuesday shows the alliance between NATO member Turkey and Russia is strengthening.
Departing US forces pelted by angry Kurds in Syria (video)
After fighting ISIS as a U.S. ally for five years, a Kurdish leader tells Fox News they are being abandoned to face potential slaughter; Steve Harrigan reports from Erbil, Iraq.
Trump says U.S. will lift sanctions on Turkey, calling cease-fire in Syria ‘permanent’
President Trump announced Wednesday that the United States will lift sanctions on Turkey, saying that the Turkish government has informed the White House that it will abide by what he characterized as a “permanent” cease-fire along the border with Syria.
At a hastily organized event in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, Trump also used the occasion to justify his “America First” foreign policy agenda, pushing back against critics by arguing that he is removing U.S. troops from a region where they should not be involved.
“Let someone else fight over this long-bloodstained sand,” Trump said.
He took credit for the cease-fire and suggested the agreement would save tens of thousands of Kurdish lives in the region — even though one day earlier, Russia and Turkey agreed to a plan to push Syrian Kurdish fighters from a wide swath of territory just south of Turkey’s border, cementing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s preeminent role in Syria as American troops depart and U.S. influence wanes.
The agreement will leave Turkey and Russia in control of territory formerly held by Kurdish forces once allied with the United States.
The Trump administration had announced the sanctions on Oct. 14 after the Turkish military offensive against Kurdish-led forces in northern Syria. That offensive followed Trump’s announcement that he would pull U.S. troops from Syria — a decision that brought stiff, bipartisan criticism...
Buh-Buh-Buh ...but ...houndawg wrote:kalm wrote:
With the Kurdish guards and staff still in it?
They're as good as dead anyway.
We have zero bidniz being in the mid-east at all.
President Cut&Run just installed 2 Patriot missile batteries with US Troops in SA, after raising deployment levels over 16,000 this year alone.
It's PNAC rules, don'tchaknow ...