“We’re talking about sand and death. That’s what we’re talking about. We’re not talking about vast wealth. We’re talking about sand and death,” is how Trump described Syria when taking questions from the media after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, explaining his decision to withdraw US forces.
He denied there was a set timeline for the withdrawal, saying it would be “over a period of time.”
“I never said I’m getting out tomorrow. I said we’re pulling our soldiers out…” he said. “But we’re getting out very powerfully.”
They will not, however, abandon the Kurds, he added, reasoning that the Kurdish forces fight better when they have US fire power backing them up.
“They fight better when we fight with them,” he said of the Kurdish forces. “You know, when we send 30 F-18s in front of them, they fight much better than they do when we don’t. And you’ve seen what’s happened.”
“But we want to protect the Kurds, nevertheless, we want to protect the Kurds.”
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are battling ISIS in the Euphrates River valley with support from the US-led coalition. They reported heavy clashes with ISIS in Hajin in the past 24 hours, but managed to advance on several fronts.
In the past, Trump has said he has great admiration for the Kurds, describing them as great fighters.
On Wednesday, however, Trump said he was “not happy” about Kurds selling oil to Iran.
“The Kurds – it’s very interesting. Turkey doesn’t like them. Other people do. I didn’t like the fact that they’re selling the small oil that they have to Iran. And we asked them not to sell it to Iran. But the Kurds, our partners, are selling oil to Iran. We’re not thrilled about that,” he said.
Trump’s decision to exit Syria was widely criticized for leaving America’s Kurdish allies exposed to an attack by Turkey in the city of Manbij.
With an impending US departure, the YPG asked the Syrian regime to bolster defences around Manbij as Syrian militias allied to Turkey built up their troops in the area.
Syria’s Defence Ministry claimed that around 400 Kurdish fighters had left Manbij as of Tuesday under an agreement to “restore normal life” in northern Syria, state media reported on Wednesday.
More than 30 vehicles had departed Manbij for the eastern bank of the Euphrates River.
The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) had announced the withdrawal of their last forces from Manbij last summer, under an agreement made between Washington and Ankara.
Neither the YPG nor the Manbij Military Council has confirmed the withdrawal reported by Damascus. The YPG had previously said no regime forces would enter the city of Manbij.
This was Trump's first cabinet meeting with new acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan who has taken over from James Mattis who resigned in protest of the sudden exit from Syria.
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