https://nypost.com/2018/04/17/trump-seeking-arab-coalition-to-replace-us-military-in-syria/
The Trump administration is seeking to build a coalition of Arab forces to replace the United States military in Syria and help stabilize the region after the defeat of the Islamic State, according to a report.
National security adviser John Bolton has reached out to Egypt’s acting intelligence chief, Abbas Kammel, to see if he would take part in the effort,
the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
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The administration has already reached out to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to contribute billions of dollars to the effort as well as troops.
In a speech in Ohio last month,
Trump surprised his military leaders by suddenly declaring: “We’ll be coming out of Syria like very soon. Let the other people take care of it now.”
He also referred to a troop pullout last Friday when he
announced the airstrikes conducted by the US, France and Britain on Syria following the
chemical weapons attack in Douma, a suburb of Damascus, that killed scores of people.
“We have asked our partners to take greater responsibility for securing their home region, including contributing larger amounts of money,” the president said.
A spokesman for the National Security Council would not comment on Bolton reaching out to Egypt, but an administration official confirmed other Gulf states have been contacted.
“Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE have all been approached with respect to financial support and more broadly to contribute,” the official told the newspaper.
The US has about 2,000 troops in Syria working with allies in the region to destroy the remaining pockets of ISIS fighters in the country.
But conflicting interests among Arab nations could be a challenge to building a coalition — a matter made even more complicated if the US doesn’t leave any troops there to provide military support.
“There is just no precedent or established basis for this shaping into a successful strategy,” Charles Lister, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, told the Wall Street Journal.
US warplanes have been providing air cover for the Kurdish and Arab fighters assisting US troops in Syria. A US pullout would leave a void.
Referring to the alliance, “It has to be strong enough to face down Assad or Iran if either seeks to reclaim territory, perhaps with Russia’s help,” Michael O’Hanlon of the Brookings Institution told the newspaper.