Will US Troops Leave Syria or Iraq? What a US Withdrawal Might Mean…

– Talk has begun on the status of US troops in Iraq while rumors have circulated about a possible US withdrawal from Syria;

– While a withdrawal from either occupied nation is uncertain, there are multiple reasons why the US would withdraw merely to allow a much larger conflict the US seeks to take shape;

– US policy papers have noted a US presence in Iraq complicates the use of Israel as a proxy against Iran, implying a US withdrawal from Iraq as a prerequisite for Israeli strikes on Iran;

– The US may also withdraw from the Middle East in order to channel resources into its ongoing proxy war in Ukraine or for the confrontation it is attempting to provoke with China in the Asia-Pacific;

References:

NEO – US Withdrawal from Syria and Iraq: The Worst-Case Scenario (January 29, 2024):
https://journal-neo.su/2024/01/29/us-…

Brookings Institution – Which Path to Persia? Options for a New American Strategy toward Iran (2009):
https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/…

Forbes – Is This The Beginning Of The End For U.S. Troop Deployments In Syria And Iraq? (January 25, 2024):
https://www.forbes.com/sites/pauliddo…

CNN – US and Iraqi governments expected to start talks on future of US military presence in the country (January 25, 2024):
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/01/24/po…

US Department of State – Secretary Antony J. Blinken at a Press Availability (December 2022):
https://www.state.gov/secretary-anton…

RAND Corporation – Extending Russia, Competing from Advantageous Ground (2019):
https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_re…

ABC News – Trump admin approves new sale of anti-tank weapons to Ukraine (October 2019):
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump…