WASHINGTON: The United States will send armoured vehicles and combat troops into eastern Syria to keep oil fields from potentially falling into the hands of Islamic State militants, US Defence Secretary Mark Esper said on Friday.It was the latest sign that extracting the military from Syria is more uncertain and complicated than President Donald Trump is making it out to be. Though Trump repeatedly says he is pulling out of Syria, the reality on the ground is different.Adding armoured reinforcements in the oil-producing area of Syria could mean sending several hundred US troops even as a similar number are being withdrawn from a separate mission closer to the border with Turkey where Russian forces have been filling the vacuum.Esper described the added force as “mechanised,” which means it likely will include armoured vehicles such as Bradley armoured infantry carriers and possibly tanks, although details were still to be worked out. This reinforcement would introduce a new dimension to the US military presence, which largely has been comprised of special operations forces not equipped with tanks or other armoured vehicles.Esper spoke at a news conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels, where he consulted with American allies.Sending an armoured force to eastern Syria would partially reverse the ongoing shrinkage of the US troop presence in Syria.Speaking to reporters on Friday at the White House, Trump said the US-brokered agreement with Turkey to halt its offensive against US-supporting Syrian Kurdish fighters was a win for his administration.He also said anew on Friday that “we’re getting our troops out” of Syria, without mentioning Esper’s announcement.Esper’s announcement came even as Trump again indicated in tweets that the US military mission in Syria was complete.He previously has acknowledged a willingness to help protect the oil fields in eastern Syria, suggesting they could benefit the Kurds as well as the United States, although those resources belong to the Syrian government.
10-27-2019, 02:52 PM
US moves to protect Syrian oilfields from IS
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