During his visit to Israel, National Security Adviser John Bolton was openly contradicting President Trump on the withdrawal from Syria, and suggested that there would be no withdrawal at all until multiple conditions were met.
Bolton said that pockets of ISIS are undefeated and that the US would
have to wipe those out before a pullout. He further said that there must
be guarantees of safety for the Kurds, as well as for Israel.
On top of this, another unnamed “senior” official said that US troops might stay in al-Tanf,
in southeastern Syria, even after the pullout. This official suggested
that the US would consult with Jordan and Israel before doing anything.
All of this stands in contrast to very explicit Trump positions assuring
that the battle is won, that Israel would be fine, and that the US has
no interest in staying in Syria. Whether Bolton’s statement marks
another shift in policy remains to be seen.
It may well be that this statement is intended to be vague reassurance
to Israel, where officials were upset by the US pullout. Since the whole
process has slowed down and exact details aren’t clear, anything that
provides reassurance can probably be justified after the fact, whether
true or not.
Bolton: US Won’t Leave Syria Unless Certain Objectives Are Achieved
Says ISIS must be destroyed, Kurds and Israel have security
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
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