With an estimated 2,000 US troops in Syria, all relatively near the
Iraqi border, the planned pullout seems like it should be
straightforward. Indeed, the first of the pullout involved getting into vehicles and driving into Iraq.
But officials have said that withdrawing from Syria is going to require
support from US troops elsewhere in the region. In addition to the
troops in Iraq and Kuwait who are doing the logistics of driving 2,000
troops out of Syria over the course of several months, the US has also deployed two amphibious ready groups to the region.
These two groups involve an entire F-35B squadron of fighters on board
the USS Essex, as well as around 4,500 shipboard Marines who will be on
standby to support the pullout militarily if needed.
It’s not clear why the Pentagon would consider this necessary for the
pullout. Moreover, it is unclear how 4,500 troops on board ships in the
Red Sea and Persian Gulf are going to get involved in operations in
eastern Syria, which are in the desert, and nowhere near any coasts.
Officials were emphasizing the need to “safely” withdraw troops from
Syria, and having a huge number of Marines in the region may be an
aspect of that, even if there’s no easy way they could even get involved
in the situation. It may also serve to reassure hawkish allies who want
large amounts of US forces to remain in the Middle East.
US Has 4,500 Marines, F-35 Squadron on Standby to Support Syria Pullout
Amphibious groups in Red Sea, Persian Gulf
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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