US begins withdrawing gear from Syria, but not troops

The battle against die-hard jihadists in remote areas along the Iraqi-Syrian border and the hunt for IS supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the world’s most wanted man, could last indefinitely.

The start of the drawdown coincided with a Middle East tour by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who insisted in Cairo on Thursday that the withdrawal would go ahead despite widespread criticism.

On the same day however, Pompeo said in a speech that “when America retreats, chaos often follows.”

– Turkish threats –

Bolton’s conditions for a withdrawal included the defeat of IS in Syria and guarantees for the safety of Washington’s Kurdish allies, who have been threatened with an imminent offensive by Turkey.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan labeled Bolton’s comments unacceptable and a “grave mistake.”

The People’s Protection Units (YPG), which have spearheaded ground operations against IS in Syria, are an offshoot of the Kurdish PKK, which has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984.

Turkey considers the YPG a terrorist movement and has repeatedly threatened to move into Syria to create a buffer zone along the border.

The group has already started reaching out to Damascus and its Russian sponsor.

Critics of Trump’s decision, including within his own Republican party, have said a precipitous withdrawal would shatter US policy in Syria and allow IS to rebuild.

They have also argued that it would further allow Syrian regime ally Iran to extend its influence across the country and potentially threaten Israel.

Democratic congressman Adam Schiff, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, blasted the withdrawal plans.

“The Trump Administration’s foreign policy is as deeply flawed in its conception as it is dangerously incompetent in its execution,” Schiff said on Twitter.

Though Trump has said he wants a withdrawal to be coordinated, gradual and “prudent,” observers have stressed that his announcement was having the same impact as a withdrawal itself.

“The damage is done,” said Fabrice Balanche, a geographer and Syria expert.

“On the ground, the announcement of the pullout is as if they were already gone.”