Israel needs to brace for U.S'. full withdrawal from Syria

Now that President Trump has unilaterally decided to pull all U.S. troops out of Syria, Israel is forced to brace for the proverbial crap to hit the fan.

The Trump administration will withdraw its roughly two thousand troops from Syria, a U.S. official announced. This potentially leaves Israel on its own to battle Iranian expansion on its doorstep, as well as other allies in the Middle East.

Trump has declared victory Wednesday in the mission to defeat ISIS or Islamic State, and in terms of taking back territory from IS, he's correct. But once we pull out, who will fill the vacuum? Probably the remaining ISIS fighters and new recruiting by them. The war with Islamic State is not over.

The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on conditions of anonymity, said that the pullout has begun and troops will be leaving as soon as possible.

President Donald Trump said American military forces are no longer needed in a country torn apart by long-running civil war. 

Secretary of Defense James Mattis does not agree and has resigned his position effective at the end of February. I agree with Mattis and hope that Israel and the region can deal with the aftermath of the pullout.

I also believe that President Trump needs to take his advisers' advice when they advise him. Lyndon Johnson was guilty of this during the Vietnam War and look what it got us.

Trump has said since he was a presidential candidate that he wanted to bring back troops from the Middle East. But officials have said in recent weeks that pockets of IS militants remain. U.S. policy has been that American forces would stay in place until the extremists were eradicated.

Pentagon and other officials have also said that U.S. troops were countering Iran-backed militants in Syria, which was an expansion of the U.S. mission.

Our allies, particularly Israel, must be scratching their collective heads.

Israel has long declared that Iran’s military entrenchment on its doorstep is a red line the Jewish state will not tolerate. Israeli air strikes have targeted Iranian military personnel and assets, which have coincidentally helped Syrian dickweed Bashar Al-Assad battle insurgents in a bloody civil war that has been dragging on for over seven years.

The extent to which U.S. troop withdrawal will affect Israel’s efforts to beat back Iran’s presence in Syria remains to be seen.

In response to the U.S.announcement regarding withdrawal from Syria, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented that in discussions with Trump on Monday and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday, “The American administration . . . made it clear that they have other ways of expressing their influence in the area. This is, of course, an American decision. We will study its timetable, how it will be implemented and – of course – its implications for us. In any case we will take care to maintain the security of Israel and to defend ourselves in this area.”

Earlier in the year, a phone call between Netanyahu and Trump reportedly became strained over Israel’s rejection of the U.S.’ six-month Syria exit plan, according to an Associated Press report.

Israeli lawmaker Yair Lapid posted to Twitter that the pullout would “pave the way for Iran to achieve a foothold.”

Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) disagree with the pullout as well. 

Rubio said rapid removal of troops would be a "grave error with broad implications" beyond the fight against IS.

Sen. Graham tweeted:

“President @realDonaldTrump is right to want to contain Iranian expansion. However, withdrawal of our forces in Syria mightily undercuts that effort and puts our allies, the Kurds at risk.”

Responding to the reports, Pentagon spokesman Col. Rob Manning said in a statement that “at this time, we continue to work by, with and through our partners in the region.”

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