Trump Is on the Way out From Syria, Damascus and the Russians Believe
Russians believe Trump doesn't want a repeat of Iraq in Syria and the US really is on the way out from the country
Russian advisors visiting the Syrian capital Damascus are confident that the US forces will pull out of al-Tanf and will also aim to completely withdraw from north of Syria (al-Hasaka and Deir-Ezzour) in the next six months.
According to top decision makers based in Damascus, the US President Donald Trump is pushing his administration to approve an already prepared total withdrawal plan. Despite Trump’s limited knowledge of foreign policy and being unaware of the consequences of his decisions in the international arena, however, he found no convincing elements – said the sources, who asked to remain anonymous – in the presentation by his administration where US forces could benefit from the continuation of their presence in such a hostile environment and without suffering hits in the future.
Trump’s biggest fear to see the US special forces deployed in the north of Syria and in Iraq returning to the country “in plastic bags”. He would certainly find it hard to offer any explanation for the US occupation of the Levant after the defeat of ISIS (the “Islamic State” group) or what remained of it in Syria and Iraq.
Moreover, Trump noticed that the hostility against its forces in Iraq was growing: Iraqi security forces (Hashd al-Sha’bi) vowed revenge on the US following the destruction by unknown jets (believed to be Israeli) of their command and control position on the Iraqi-Syrian borders with specific orders to stop and destroy ISIS terrorist groups crossing into Iraq.
The sources believe president Trump is not ready – despite his passionate support of Israel – to see US forces paying the price of a game Israel has excelled in playing for decades. Israel is used to accepting hits in exchange for the consequences of its action against its neighbours.
Russian sources involved in the preparation of the Putin-Trump summit, expected this month in Europe, believe the Russian President can offer enough guarantees to the US president to leave the Levant before US gets caught into the Syrian-Iraqi quagmire. The key to attaining this objective is for Trump to hold enough elements to guarantee the safety of Israeli – to his mind – with no Iranian or Hezbollah forces deployed on the disengagement line of 1974. But of course Russia cannot offer any guarantee that Syria will not claim back its occupied territory in the Golan Heights.