Currently, there are 900 US troops in Syria, with the Department of Defense deploying an additional 1,100 soldiers in December 2024 [Getty]
The US Department of Defense is developing plans to withdraw all US troops from Syria, NBC News reported on Wednesday, citing two US defence officials.
President Donald Trump and officials close to him recently expressed interest in pulling US troops out of Syria, leading Pentagon officials to begin drawing up plans for a full withdrawal in 30, 60 or 90 days, the report added.
Trump’s new national security adviser, Mike Waltz, spent Friday at US Central Command headquarters in Tampa, Florida, where he met with senior military leaders and received briefings on the Middle East, the report said, citing US defence officials.
A White House official clarified that Waltz’s visit was not intended to discuss a potential reduction of US forces in Syria and that the topic was not part of the briefing.
“It’s important for NSA Waltz to visit CENTCOM to gain a comprehensive understanding of the region,” the official said, noting that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Trump on Tuesday and that Jordan’s King Abdullah would visit next week.
The Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) representative in Washington, Sinam Mohamad, said on Wednesday that Trump was expected to decide on the US military presence in Syria in the coming days, according to Syrian news site Enab Baladi.
Mohamad emphasised that the SDC had conveyed to US officials their desire for US forces to remain until a comprehensive solution is reached.
Mohamed also noted that negotiations between Syria’s Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian government were ongoing and had not yet concluded.
SDF spokesperson Farhad Shami told Reuters that the group had not received any plans from the US on withdrawing forces in northern and eastern Syria.
“Of course, [Islamic State group] and other malicious forces are waiting for the opportunity of the US withdrawal to reactivate and reach the state of 2014,” Shami said.
At the height of its powers in 2014, Islamic State (IS) group imposed a reign of terror over millions of people and claimed control over swathes of the combined territories of Iraq and Syria.
The US considers the Kurdish-led forces key allies against IS but neighbouring Turkey regards them as a national security threat.
On 30 January, Trump announced that he would decide on the presence of US forces in Syria.
When asked by a reporter at the White House whether he planned to withdraw US troops from Syria, Trump responded: “I don’t know who said that, but we will make a decision on that soon.”
He added: “We are not involved in Syria. Syria is in chaos – they have enough chaos there; they don’t need our involvement.”
Trump’s remarks followed a 29 January report by Israel’s Kan broadcaster, which claimed that US officials had informed their Israeli counterparts that Trump had intended to withdraw American forces from Syria.
Currently, there are 900 US troops in Syria, with the Department of Defence deploying an additional 1,100 soldiers in December 2024.
At the time, a Pentagon spokesperson described the additional US forces as “essential troops” who had been deployed for approximately one year.
