Pentagon: Up to 1,000 U.S. Troops to Withdraw from Northern Syria

Washington (AFP) – The Pentagon said Sunday President Donald Trump had ordered the withdrawal of up to 1,000 troops from northern Syria — almost the entire ground force in war-torn country — amid an intensifying Turkish assault on Kurdish forces.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the move came after the US learned that Turkey was pressing further into Syria than had been expected.

And the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are seeking a deal with the Syrian regime and Russia to counter-attack against the Turks in the north, Esper added.

“We find ourselves as we have American forces likely caught between two opposing advancing armies and it’s a very untenable situation,” Esper told CBS’s Face the Nation.

“So I spoke with the president last night after discussions with the rest of the national security team and he directed that we begin a deliberate withdrawal of forces from northern Syria.”

Rogers warns Michigan voters against El-Sayed’s ‘extreme’ agenda ahead of election

Watch: Trump Calls Slotkin ‘Lowlife’ for Plan to Terrorize, Deter Future Conservatives With the Threat of Legal Punishment

Watch: Dem Sen So Radically Ignorant on Iran That CNN Has to Educate Him – So Bad, CNN Even Takes Trump’s Side

Rediscovered DHS Docs Suggest Ilhan Omar May Have Never Been US Citizen in First Place

JD Vance declines to endorse Netanyahu despite Trump’s strong backing

Judge walks back ‘untenable’ order against Trump DOJ after tense DC golf course hearing

Breaking: Feds Have DNA Evidence That Ilhan Omar Committed Voter Fraud, Married Her Brother – Source

‘Changes the balance of leverage’: Zelensky tries to hold on as Trump pressures him to concede

Mahmoud Khalil asks Supreme Court to hear deportation case

LISTEN: Kansas soccer field dispatch call captures mass-casualty response after driver kills boy, man

Netflix Bloodbath Continues – Company Fires Film Chief

Report: Posts from Talarico’s Adoptive Dad Unearthed – Show ‘Best Man’ Dem Knows Joked About Christ and Degenerate Different Way to Kill Him

Kansas man mapped rooftops near Trump speech site, threatened to shoot president: DOJ

Media Learns Would-Be Shooter Is Trans, Immediately Starts Using Biological Pronouns to Hide Trans ID, Blaming Men Instead

Repeat offender accused of shooting National Guard member has lengthy history with the law, records show

Esper said he was unable to provide a timeline because of the rapidly changing situation on the ground, but added that the withdrawal would be carried out in a “very safe, deliberate manner.”

“Look it’s a very terrible situation over there. A situation caused by the Turks… Despite our opposition they decided to make this incursion into Syria,” Esper told CBS.

“And at this point in time in the last 24 hours we learned that they likely intend to expand their attack further south than originally planned and to the west

“We also have learned in the last 24 hours that the… SDF are looking to cut a deal, if you will, with the Syrians and the Russians to counter-attack against the Turks in the north.”

– ‘Immediate defensive action’ –

Asked if troops would be leaving the country altogether, Esper clarified that the withdrawal was just from northern Syria, “which is where most of our forces are.”