It seemed almost inevitable that America would forsake the Kurds in Syria. On the evening of October 6th U.S. President Donald Trump announced that American troops would withdraw from the area around Syria’s border with Turkey, The Economist reported.
Numbering around 150 (out of a total contingent of 1,000 in eastern Syria) the troops near the border were largely a tripwire to prevent a long-threatened invasion by Turkey, which views the Syrian Kurdish militia in control of the region (the People’s Protection Units, or YPG) as a terrorist group.
"Turkey will soon be moving forward with its long-planned operation into Northern Syria," Trump said, adding that American troops "will no longer be in the immediate area." Hours later the pullout had already begun, with American soldiers abandoning outposts in Syria.
