Trump flipflop: US bases to stay in post-war Syria for blocking Russian-Iranian consolidation
President Trump’s decision to keep US troops in post-war Syria comes ahead of his Friday deadline for re-certifying the nuclear accord with Iran, DEBKAfile reports exclusively from Washington.
The decision to retain US bases in northern Syria after the Islamic State’s defeat not only poses a challenge for the plans Moscow has drawn up for Syria, but is another slap in the face for Tehran. It is a reversal of the former White House policy, designed by Trump’s advisers led by National Security Adviser Gen. HR McMaster, to try and work together with President Vladimir Putin on the shape of post-war Syria. They had recommended the drawdown of US troops in the country, following the removal of all foreign forces, especially Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Hizballah and the various pro-Iranian Shiite militias fighting for the Assad regime.
This approach, our Washington sources reveal, was turned on its head by certain momentous events in the past week, most significantly the arrival of game-changing Iranian weapons to Syria, without a demurral from Moscow. Putin was emerging not as America’s partner in Syria’s future, but the active associate in Tehran’s scheme to establish itself permanently in Syria after the war was over. DEBKAfile’s military sources reveal that Israel’s three air strikes of the al Qutaifa base west of Damascus (not east as widely reported) focused on a single target. US military sources noted later that when an air raid is repeated on the same target, it is evidence of an undivided resolve to wipe it off the face of the earth. The same sources also pointed at Russia’s silence on the Israeli air strike and its consequences, although it was the heaviest Israel has staged in many years.
Trump’s flipflop for keeping US boots where they are in northern Syria (see attached map) puts Syria back in the role of central US arena of contention against Russia and its alliance with Iran and Turkey.
You can find the details of the new US strategy for Syria, its multiple objectives and a prognosis of where it may lead, in the coming issue of DEBKA Weekly 785 (for subscribers) which comes out Friday, Jan. 1.
If you are not yet a subscriber, click here.
The Americans must come up with a better way to push back the Iranians. On the surface the Iranians appear to be dividing the spoils of war and responsibility with the Russians but, I think, they are actually are working against the Russians on many fronts to make it as difficult to stay in Syria as possible. The Americans should use this opportunity to work with the Russians to send the Revolutionary Guard back to their lairs.
Rubbish
There isn’t room for two megalomaniacal cults in Syria at the same time. Iran wants full control and it is in the process of putting together a terror campaign through its proxies to make sure it has hegemony over the region to work against Russian interests and force it into the back seat.
Three megalomaniacals!
The Americans need to push back the Zionist Extremists from Government…..Good is your savior not fake Zionists…….#peacefuwarrior they fuckin did 911….Netanyahu your going to hang my ould buddy by your balls…..and nobody can save you but your fake Messiah that will never come….
Mr. FRAUD: You and Hitler have a lot in common!!
You just go f…your self
who smelled it, dealt it.
he who lives by the sword…
You got that right! Iran has been working on getting closer to the Israeli border for years and now it has achieved its goal. Iranian forces, Shiite Militias and Hezbollah are within 40 miles of the border on the Golan Heights; in some cases even closer.
The Americans must be dreaming Assad and have s allies will sllow US to stay.
No country will allow such in their country .
Just don’t know how these guys can even think that is possible.
Which victorious side allows a loser to have bases in their country is beyond comprehension and illegal too.
So might is law.
Anyhow Iran has given he warning is enough said
A major war is certain and a lot will depend on Russia if they want US bases near theirs which is doubtful.
Keep dreaming.
Syria is no longer a country…it is an occupied region with Iranian fascists and Russian oligarchs the major occupiers. Assad is history or a useful idiot. There are no good guys in Syria and never have been.
It’s your fantasy. US Is illegaly stay in Syria based on Israel order. Btw last time i check at UN, Syria is still a country with President Assad as it’s leader, and some area of Syria(Golan height) has been occupying by a rouge invader country in ME.
The last time I checked, Assad gassed his people and killed thousands on his order. Is that what you call a leader? Maybe, but only in Islamic countries would he be considered such.
with people of your type,no wonder that invasions are necessary,look at those bunch of savage beasts
What were you saying about fantasies lol. The war is long from over. 1/3 of Syria is under Kurd control in the north as a new independent state. America supports it. Nothing Iran or Russia can do as Sunni control the UN these days and the “UN” will give kurd´s autonomy. A big thank you to America lol. Turkey is on brink of leaving iran and russian collusion and will support FSA and remove Assaids. Assaids is prolonging only. He won nothing! If you remember rightly…. all arab nations, including “syria” are rogue states. Arabs through the mileniums untill 1925 were nomads. They had no borders and might was right. Guess what. Kamas a biatch, right lol :O
Iran Supports Terrorism to Try to take over all the Countries in the Region because they want to be a Shia Moslem Empire over the whole Middle East. Israel and the US are not going to allow them to set up camp in Syria period. Guess what, push America and we can kick anyone’s ass and bomb them into the Stone age. We have not brought the full might and Power of the US since WWII. Go ahead and try it. If you threaten Israel or the US and piss us off, their is no where to hide. We have the strongest and most powerful Military in the World. Not Russia and certainly not Russia. Russia’s Economy is about to collapse and they don’t have the military or the Resources the US has.
Looking at the big picture, the USA, Russia, Israel and other countries have had their women and children murdered by Islamic terrorists for decades! From before 911, to Moscow, Israel and worldwide, every day.
Many Muslims rejoice and celebrate their terrorist attacks and laugh at any discord and bickering among Western Civilization nations, and cowardly weak appeasers in Europe.
The Muslim terrorists greatest fear is that the West and Russia, work together as allies, along with Israel and other democracies, standing together as they absolutely should.
Let’s also remember that if not for Russia, we would have lost World War II. Western civilization, Israel and allies need to work together to defend against Islamic terrorism and the regimes that enable and support them.
Peace, security, compassion and progress for all people worldwide can be achieved. United we stand!
True, Western Civilization is under heavy assault. No one should forget Western Civilization was nearly destroyed by militant Islam twice in the last 1000 – 1400 years, and was only saved by force of arms (Charles Martel and the Franks at Tours in the 8th century, and a combined force of Germans and Poles at Vienna in the 17th century. The natural alliance to stop the current assault, and to guard against them in the future, would be the US, Russia, and India, which would also serve well as a bulwark against Chinese communist expansionism.
Your right about collaboration in WW2. However, the cold war came about as russia showed its true colors and kept 55,000 allied Pows held in west German camps. They went back to russian camps and not back home as allies refused to give half europe to russia in return for their return. Will allies allow that again? Not in this lifetime. Russia will forever sit on the fence in mistrust.
thats not what started the cold war, you are being selective. You nuked Japan as a demonstration of strength to the USSR, so how did you expect them to respond? If we are talking about trust, which of the 80 countries the US has interfered/instigated coups with see you on that same fence?
You are the beast, babylon, the new rome, not some other illusory enemy but you, you are the greatest threat to humanity in all human history. You have shown your true colours by murdering 22 million people since the end of ww2, yes, look it up, thats what the UN says. And you continue to do so, murdering 1 million in Iraq, and tens of thousands in Syria, Lybia, Yemen and wherever you go.
No way we would have lost WW2 without Russia. We had Nukes- checkmate.
You are ignorant. The nukes you developed depended on nazi scientists, dont deny it. You were only in the war for 3 years, most of the fighting and dying was done on the eastern front, which yanks did not participate in. If you did, without nukes (because you had none in 1942) how do you think you’d have done, given that the Russians lost 25 million?
Your a child, with a child’s analysis, cheerleading for a war you entered very late, and never faced the elite of the German Army which was in the east. It would have been a battle of the bulge (80,000 Us casualties) every week, and even with nukes, you would have devastated the earth to defeat the nazis.
You obviously dont play chess…
If I remember correctly, there were quite a lot of hebrews celebrating 911. Remember the videos?
Kilroy: Your memory has been destroyed by too much pot and too much hate.
Russia would have lost to the Nazis if we had not been supplying them long before we entered the war with combat troops. The Russians basically begged for the West to open another front. Try to learn real history.
Israel will re-ignite the war in Syria against Hezbollah and Iran. Russia will withdraw and Assaids will be left to own devices. Isis will cease to exist and Israel´s push to clear all Iran and Hezbollah once and for all will leave an independent Kurdish state in the north a buffer to Iran. The FSA will take advantage and control of Israel´s diversion and give Syria a new identity as a Sunni base making saudí and associates happy. Israel will have peace on this border then. Russia will re emerge with America and both will profit from this new Syria.
Are you dreaming? Russia withdraw after so much efforts that actually put US in a limbo in ME?
Rest be assured ASSAD’s allies can easily handle all US and allies in ME
Iran has already given a warning is enough said.
I don’t think any force opposing ASSAD’s allies can defeat him
Wait for Sochi and see how the Kurds will stand before another big war with Russia on Assad’s side
The Kurds and the minority groups are the only civilized people in the Muslim-dominated region.
Why because you have a romanticised view of them? You see propaganda of marxist anarchist women armed with ak47s and that makes you weep. Your country, and every country on earth regard the YPG as terrorists, who have stolen arab lands because they are backed by the US.
You know nothing of the history of the region, the kurds do not own any of the land they have stolen to carve another israel in the middle of americas enemies (which they created, every one).
They are just like the joos, illegally occupying lands which are not historically theirs, acting tough because they suck from daddy yank’s ball sack. But without US airpower, the Turks would macerate them like the wild dogs that they are. Kurds are terrorists, any city in europe with kurds is a shthole, but you wouldn’t know because you dont have refugees from the countries you invade.
If you love them so much, let them come to Alabama or whatever provincial hell hole you live in, and watch them as they eat with the same hand they wipe their aholes with.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AXbBU1-GZfg start praying MFS….
The Americans need to push back the Zionist Extremists from Government…..Good is your savior not fake Zionists…….#peacefuwarrior
The Americans need to push back the Zionist Extremists from Government…..Good is your savior not fake Zionists…….#peacefuwarrior they fuckin did 911….Netanyahu your going to hang my ould buddy by your balls…..and nobody can save you but your fake Messiah that will never come….
Mr. FRAUD: Spoken like a true Islamist terrorist brought up in his tradition of antisemitism. Try a different tune, it will get you a lot further.
Don’t call the Bagdad Bob wannabe “anti-Semitic”. That sounds too polite. He’s just a filthy, Jew hating, gutter snipe scum, like the other two people on here repeatedly posting the same type of trash.
what spoils your YPG terrorists are occupying the oil fields, why dont YOU return to your backwards den of filth and stay there, all you have done is unleash horror on the middle east, and now you are supplying arms to kurdish terrorists who have stolen arab lands, and you have no legal basis to do so, just the fact that empire is as empire does.
Supply them, and be attacked for years on all sides by turkey, Iran, russia, syria, smart move. Another vietnam with no purpose, no objective, just to be a spoiler. Remember you have surrounded iran with your bases, you are in their backyard not the other way around.
what are the united states doing halfway around the world ? they cannot even guard their own borders .
Bring a quick end to the JCPOA (The Iran – EU – UN – US – Russian plan to phase in a nuclear Iran). That will help disabuse the Europeans of their belief in the goodness of the groomed barbarians in Iran. The Iranian supporters and sycophants in Europe have fantasies about their deal with an Islamo-fascist terror regime and now think that it serves them well. It does not… but elites in the EU are short-sighted and fixated on the windfall contracts with the Islamo-fascist regime.
I am pleased that ISIL has been trounced in their new Caliphate by the Russians and others – it is a good thing that bloody barbarians have mostly fallen – but the barbarians who have replaced them to form their own Iranian caliphate are no better and much more dangerous because they have nukes.
The US and Russians need to remove the Iranians from power and oust them from their terror ventures outside of Iran proper. They should do so before the Iranians succeed in their plan to oust the Russians. Take away the Iranian nuclear deal and ability to conduct international war which put them on the same level of lethality as the US and Russia.
Fyi, those so called islamofacist, islamic terrorist caliphate ( ISIL/ISIS) is Israel darling. Btw those who have crushed ISIL/ISIS in Syria are Russia, IRAN and Hezbullah, you should say thank to those trio.
You are just a liar and repeating the same lie about Israel does not make it true. Israel helps individuals who end up a bloody mess on their border. Unlike Muzzies, they do not automatically turn away or kill humans because their Islamo-facist credentials are not 100% sharia compliant. That is what separates the savage and the civilized man.
BS! The kurds crushed ISIS ISIL. Russia syria and hezbollah been busy “trying” to crush FSA (legit Syrian government now) but not succeeding. Hundreds of thousands dead from bombing and complete disregard for life. Thats why Assaids brough in Iran, hezbollaha nd russia. None of them give a fug for huma nlife and are as bad as ISIS when killing. If Israel controlled ISIS ISIL … you and yours would not be here today to make such stupid accusations. You would be victims instead.
You illustrate my point that the Me is awash with terrorists and that has its root cause and genesis in Islamic teachings which promote conquest, jihad, misogyny, terror and intolerance. Stop shifting the blame to Israel which is the only bright spot in a sea of despots and hatemongers.
Yes, the Kurds should get the lion’s share of praise for defeating ISIL. That fact is not spoken enough.
They should, and they also want to give us that great big airbase Saddam built at Irbil; a perfect forward deployment position against the endless sh*t talking mad mullahs in Iran, who’ve had a one sided ass whuppin’ coming from America since 1979.
The state you describe, was created by the United states – the biggest exporter of terror in human history – in 1953. You installed a King, and that created an islamic backlash. Iran, like syria, Iraq, and Turkey, were all secular states, now only Syria is nominally secular. Your interventions embolden islamic hardliners, thats why ISIS exists in the first place.
Iran is perfectly justified in having a nuclear program, because of people who think like you, you justify their pursuit of such a weapon. Why dont you complain about the joos, they have illegal nukes, but their evils are invisible to americans, such are the perforations in the minds of christian fundamentalists who want to see a fiery Armageddon in the mid-east.
Trump may be the only one who can rescue Putin from his Syro-Iranian backseat drivers. Most people don’t understand what’s going on, or how the Russian leadership has been blackmailed—initially by Bashar Assad but lately also by Iran—using evidence of clandestine Soviet and even post-Soviet operations, as curated by Bashar’s father Hafez Assad, and run via Syria, primarily from the late 60s through early 80s. This treasure trove of documentation could be rendered worthless if Russia (on behalf of the USSR) and the US (on behalf of the West) were to forgive each other for offences committed during—and in some cases stemming from—the Cold War. But Trump would have to make the first move – and how might that look to his many detractors who see him as a pawn of Putin?
Really stupid to think Russia will side US over Iran when US is constantly threatening both Iran and Russia . Both got those useless sanctions too.
Really how you guys refuse to know what is going on.
When has it’s attacked another country?
So you perceive no threat from Iranian nukes pointed at you? Would you rather live in Iran than the West? Bye!! This is another case of leftist ignorance; the moon bats live in a blissful state of ignorance and feel no responsibility for defending freedom – except for the freedom of dictators and Islamists to kill “infidels.”
I fear joo nukes more than non-existant iranian ones, and your desire to invade Iran as per the Wesley Clarke memo will result in a massive defeat unless you use nukes, which will make the US a pariah (more so) state.
You are typical of the illiterate alt-right neo-cons who see a “nuke” that does not exits, aimed at them.
Iran has occupied southern Azerbajian since 1946. Iran’s terror proxies have attacked many countries, like Argentina, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen.
iran attacks other countries through proxies,the same method for world wide terrorism
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ICqY2t7OGEI Americans will be calling out the Zionists…..pay my money down…..
Silly. Which proxies that attack another country if not for defence
If you asking about russia …. lets start with any com block country in last 72 years, Crimea, ukrain, America many times under auspice of “assisting” com block countries, Afghanistan, Syria … yes, the FSA are the legit free people of syria…not Assaids 12% minority control. The list goes on. Hiding your head in the sand is not going to disappear the reality of ´Russias actions. Really, how can you not know what is really going on!
Its the united stated and Israel fault letting the iranians,hezzys and other pro militias get that close to the israely border
you had the chance to obliterate them but you did, now because of this every country bordering syria,iran and lebanon will be in grave danger
Right, blame the victims but not the Islamist attakers…real smart of You!!
If so, let’s compare with US or Israel, how many countries has been attacked/invaded (with bogus reason :pre emptive war or to democratize) by them since 1948, as for proxy, how many criminal gangster in its respective countries got ‘supports’ to destroyed its countries or surrounding countries (hint: Ukraine is the last one)
In general countries do what is useful for their ruling class. Russian oligarchs want to control the European energy market i.e. they’re bypassing Ukraine in order to run the pipelines through Turkey and Syria. Hence Russian air and naval bases in Syria to protect the pipeline(s). Iran has its own oil and gas to sell. Like Russia it is also dreaming of the European market. Its Islamic ideology and hate of Israel are for mass consumption. The mullahs/IRG are the Iranian oligarchs and want the same as the Russian oligarchs i.e. money. Russia and Iran are already competing in the Chinese energy market. Alaska has a Chinese Memorandum of Understanding to supply natural gas to China. US is starting to ship gas to the Baltic countries on Russian border. All in all Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran and the US are worldwide competing suppliers in the energy market. Each one of them will lose more than a market share in case of a major war hence skirmishes (like war in Syria) and repositioning will continue. Each of them will use ideology to force their masses to fight or to pay higher “defense” taxes: patriotism in Russia and the US, Islam in Iran and Saudi Arabia, human rights in US. Europe is the only large economic entity that has replaced its Christian values/ideology by rabid antisemitism. I hope it pays for it dearly by economic collapse and Islamic terror.
And what does that vile apartheid genocidal joo state tell to their illegal settlers? Do it because god tells us, we own this land because its in a fairy tale book, etc. And of course, joos love money, so dont pretend they are not motivated by that. The parasite state wishes for nothing more than utter devastation in the middle east, this is their dream come true, a far right nationalist zio-fascist state populated by half-breed ashke-“nazi” who delight at the daily murder of children.
I hope the apartheid state which the british shat out of their cancerous anus, while in shameful retreat, pays dearly for its hatred of anyone who isnt a vile heeb. You would never exist if it were not for your daddy yankystan who pays 3 billion to keep you afloat, without that money you could not exist. The tide of world opinion is against you, the whole UN except for some terrified pacific islands voted against you, a vote of no confidence is recognition by the world of the illegality of the zio-fascist terror apartheid regime.
It is NOT Ayn al Arab, it is KOBANI! please…
Lavon Affair, USS Liberty, Pollard Affair,911….and you dirtbags think you are America’s greatest allie……get the *** out of here you slimebags……
Your done like a turkey on Christmas….lol…
You are a turkey!!
Turkey is too polite. He is a vicious, lying, filthy, Jew hating piece of scum, repeating updated versions of the old Blood Libel, just as he has been neurally conditioned and linguistically programmed to do.
9/11, USS Cole, Boston Marathon, Pan Am 103, NYC car ramming, Westminster bridge car ramming, beheading of Lee Rigby, Manchester concert attack, Paris Charlie Hebdo and Bataclan, Pan Am 103, 1972 Olympics attack, Mumbai, Nairobi, Beslan, Moscow chechyns, $100 per barrel oil raping the entire world…
You have the mother of all nakbas coming to ya….
Tick tock tick tock…..that’s the clock of awakening ………
I forgot about the new Israeli group…..
#peacefulwarrior…….aka Kella Shlomo….
SO… we didn’t fully betray the Kurdish people. The Kurdish people of Syria are now, thanks to US help, firmly ensconced in northern Syria, with US Air support from at least TWO air bases, and several other sites manned by US ground forces, INCLUDING special operations troops. I suspect that in due time, AFTER the Islamic Republic of Iran has (hopefully) been cut down to size and brought to heel Iraqi Kurdistan will re-emerge, even stronger than before. My guess is that a decision was wisely reached to avoid a bloody Islamic Republic of Iran-Kurdish war, for now, and wait until Iran either has less ability to spill Kurdish blood, or has simply packed up and gone the hell back to Iran, to be deservedly executed by the freedom loving people of Iran who want NOTHING to do with the fascistic brutal satanic Islamic Republic of Iran.
You are supporting terrorists, the YPG, which is what the fake democracy freedom apple pie forces are, and turkey, iran, russia, syria and iraq would rather die than allow marxist anarchists to steal arab lands, which is what they have done thanks to the illegal occupation of the US – the only play the US ever has – of northern Syria.
Its illegal, and you will do nothing but make the whole middle east (except the curly side burn people of course) despise the kurds, which they already do. Turkey and Iraq have already attacked the kurdish pussies, who cant fight without massive US air cover. It is Iran’s backyard not some filthy yanky hick village, and they have every right to prevent kurdish marxists from creating a state that will never survive not even with US backing, unless the US allows Turkey to leave NATO, and goes to war with 5 countries at once – and for what? So you can create another israel in the middle of shia nations.
Your country is a bigger supporter of satan that anyone in history, so spare the rhetorical “freedom loving” horseshit nobody is fooled, your president banned them from entering your country, yet you support them – guess what, they dont support you, their struggle is internal and anything you do to taint it will ensure its failure. Your brand, like Hillary Clintons cnt, is rancid and despised the world over. Stay the fk out of the mid east of endure quagmire after debacle, until the empire collapses, the eagle falls, and said countries will rush to dismember your country.
The Donald got his orders from the Mossad.
You get your orders from Satan and his prophet Mohammed.
☆(❁‿❁)☆ … well said, Marg!!
Yeah for sure….ISISrael first bigely…….it’s a shame Yanks are so stupid……never seen in the history of man….
Welcome to the MALKI TZEDIK ALLIANCE http://nephos.com/shaft.htm This is the end game. Be blessed. Study Smart. Reason Deductively.
Russia and Syria should bomb them and blame ISIS…..wink wink…..
The Religion of Peace is a fraud,
I’m all for wiping out ISIS, Ala Qada, Muslim Brotherhood, Taliban, Boko Hram, Hamass, Hezbullah, ayatollahs of Fascist Iran, Fascist Baath Party, Al Shabab, Al Nusra, “lone wolves”.
How ’bout you?
Western Civilization’s survival – which no one should assume is guaranteed – depends on such entities’ total defeat and destruction, especially the regime in Iran, run by a apocalyptic death cult worshipping little boys hiding in well bottoms. They are the epicenter of Islamic terror, and must be eliminated, with prejudice.
Looks to me like US forces are there as a hedge against Turkish forces
US and Russia to rebuild the club dance scene in Damascus. Waiting to party again ….