US withdrawal from Syria likely to Begin in Weeks – Top US General Says

By Editor On Feb 11, 2019

Head of the U.S. Central Command, General Joseph Votel, said on Sunday that the United States is likely just weeks away from starting the withdrawal of ground troops from Syria ordered by President Donald Trump.

The general said that “the exact timing would depend on the situation in Syria, where the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces have launched a final push against ISIS”

Votel also noted that troop levels in Iraq would remain broadly steady, adding, “We do not want to keep people on the ground that we do not need and do not have a valid mission.”

On December 19, US President Donald Trump announced that he was withdrawing US troops from Syria, without setting a date, under the pretext of having “ISIS” organization defeated in Syria.

US national security adviser John Bolton said on January 6 that his country’s troop withdrawal from Syria would begin after Turkey had promised not to attack Kurdish forces on Syrian territory.

The Wall Street Journal, quoting administration sources, said that unless the White House alters course, the U.S. Army plans to pull a significant portion of its forces out by mid-March, with a full withdrawal coming by the end of April.”