Trump pulling all troops from Syria

[Bernadine]

Per WaPo.

The situation in Syria weighs so heavy on me. How heartbreaking.

[isabel]

I keep coming back to this. I just don't know what to say. I am so sad.

[downtoearth]

I hadn't seen this and just read this article... www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-46623617

The Trump administration says US troops are being withdrawn from Syria, after the president said the Islamic State (IS) group had been "defeated".

The Pentagon said it was transitioning to the "next phase of the campaign" but did not give details. Some 2,000 troops have helped rid much of north-eastern Syria of IS, but pockets of fighters remain. It had been thought defence officials wanted to maintain a US presence to ensure IS did not rebuild.

There are also fears a US withdrawal will cede influence in Syria and the wider region to Russia and Iran. Both the Pentagon and the White House statement said the US had started "returning United States troops home as we transition to the next phase of this campaign". The Pentagon said it would not provide further details of what that next phase is "for force protection and operational security reasons".

Is 2,000 the number we have there now? Or is 2,000 just the troops that were in active northern areas? I thought we had more and I'm surprised that we "defeated" Islamic State.