The U.S. military will cut 7 out of 8 bases in Syria, Trump administration envoy says

The United States volition standard down its subject beingness successful Syria to 1 basal from 8 and U.S. policies volition displacement successful the state “because nary of them worked” implicit the past century, the caller U.S. peculiar envoy has said.

Thomas Barrack, who President Donald Trump named special envoy past period soon aft helium unexpectedly lifted U.S. sanctions connected Syria, made the comments successful an interrogation with Turkish broadcaster NTV precocious Monday.

The U.S. subject has astir 2,000 U.S. troops successful Syria, mostly successful the northeast. They are moving with section forces to forestall a resurgence of Islamic State, which successful 2014 seized ample swaths of Iraq and Syria but was aboriginal pushed back.

Since rebels ousted Syria's former President Bashar al-Assad successful December, the United States and different countries are re-engaging with Damascus nether new person Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Barrack, besides U.S. ambassador to Turkey, raised the American emblem implicit the ambassador’s residence successful Damascus past week for the archetypal clip since 2012.

When asked however the Trump medication volition signifier its Syria argumentation and whether the U.S. is considering unit withdrawal from Syria, Barrack said: “What I tin guarantee you is that our existent Syria argumentation volition not beryllium adjacent to the Syria argumentation of the past 100 years, due to the fact that nary of these person worked.”

Reducing the fig of bases to 1 from 8 was an important portion of that shift, helium said, according to an interrogation transcript.