Cleaning up after Trump
Trump’s unilateral outburst pledging to withdraw troops from Syria has left Kurdish militias allied to the US worried; his staff seek to dilute his remarks
In stark contrast to Donald Trump’s statement that he would be withdrawing his troops from Syria, which took even his own staff by surprise, the White House National Security Advisor John Bolton said yesterday that the withdrawal from north-eastern Syria is conditional on the defeat or surrender of the remaining Islamic State rebels in the region (those Trump had asserted were “defeated”, recently on Twitter). In addition, Bolton outlined that Turkey would need to guarantee the security of Kurdish militias, allies of the US, before the withdrawal would go ahead.
Bolton sought to reassure the Kurds and appease the criticisms of a large part of the international community. He explained that, so far there is no planned date for the troops to come home, but re-stated that the US military presence in Syria is not unlimited. Bolton was speaking at a press conference in Jerusalem, before traveling to Turkey today, where he will meet with the head of US military command, Joseph Dunford.
It is hoped that this softening of rhetoric from the US will play well in Turkey, as the Washington begins related negotiations with the Ankara government, who have made no effort to hide their desire to attack the Kurds if given a chance. They make no distinction between Kurdish guerrilla groups, and regards them all as “terrorists”. Bolton declared himself confident that the Turks “will not undertake any military action that is not fully coordinated and agreed with the United States,” and reminded those present that Trump made it clear that it will not allow Turkish forces to kill the Kurds.”