US planning to withdraw forces from Syria - report

The withdrawal could occur within 30 to 90 days, with the report coming after Mike Waltz visited CENTCOM headquarters and received briefings from senior officials on the Middle East

Natalie Howitt
Natalie Howitt ■ Foreign Affairs desk producer, i24NEWS Hebrew Channel
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A US soldier stands near a Bradley Fighting Vehicle during a joint military exercise against the Islamic State group and members of the Syrian Democratic Forces in the countryside of the town of al-Malikiya in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province on September 7, 2022.
A US soldier stands near a Bradley Fighting Vehicle during a joint military exercise against the Islamic State group and members of the Syrian Democratic Forces in the countryside of the town of al-Malikiya in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province on September 7, 2022.Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP

The US Department of Defense is formulating plans to withdraw all its forces from Syria, according to a report Wednesday on NBC network. Recently, US President Donald Trump and his close associates have expressed interest in removing American forces from the country.

According to the report, Pentagon officials have begun to prepare plans for a full withdrawal from Syria, a withdrawal that could happen within 30 to 90 days, after Trump expressed interest in it. In addition, the president's National Security Advisor Mike Waltz visited US CENTCOM headquarters in Florida last Friday, receiving briefings from senior military officials on the Middle East.

However, a senior White House official said that a possible reduction of American forces in Syria is not a subject of contention or the purpose of Waltz's visit, which comes shortly after he assumed his role.

In the past, American officials expressed concern about a possible resurgence of the Islamic State in Syria. Recently, US intelligence helped to prevent an attack planned by ISIS on a well-known Shiite shrine near Damascus. This cooperation does not constitute support for the new Syrian regime, but rather signifies American doubts about whether the new regime could control the country efficiently and act against ISIS, US officials said.

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