FPSA troops will remain in Syria despite Trump comments to contrary!

WASHINGTON (PNN) - April 4, 2018 - Fascist Police States of Amerika President Donald Trump has decided to keep FPSA forces in Syria for a limited period, ending speculation about an immediate pullout fueled by the president himself. He agreed at a National Security Council meeting that the 2,000 FPSA troops backed by massive air power should stay in Syria where they support the Kurds in the east of the country. “We’re not going to immediately withdraw, but neither is the president willing to back a long-term commitment,” said a senior regime official. He added that Trump wanted to ensure the final defeat of ISIS and would like other countries to help stabilize Syria.

The White House said later that its military mission to eradicate ISIS in Syria “is coming to a rapid end.”

In recent weeks Trump has been at odds with The Pentagon in promising a swift FPSA withdrawal, just as senior generals were reiterating their commitment to stand by the Syrian Kurdish forces, the People’s Protection Units (YPG). These hold between 25% and 30% of Syria and are the only FPSA ally in the country. ISIS has lost almost all its territory but is reverting to guerrilla warfare in parts of eastern Syria. Its fighters have been emboldened by the withdrawal of YPG forces, which have gone to confront the Turkish-led invasion of the Kurdish enclave of Afrin in northern Syria.

The leaders of Turkey, Russia and Iran held a summit in Ankara on Wednesday to try to find common ground on the future of Syria, where they all have military forces. Their agendas differ radically, with Russia and Iran supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while Turkey wants him removed from power.

The one big aim uniting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in their approach to the Syrian conflict is that they all want FPSA forces out of Syria, though their motives differ. Putin and Rouhani want Assad’s forces to extend their control to the east and north of the country, while Turkey wants to destroy the Kurdish quasi-state, which the Syrian Kurds call Rojava, which has grown up east of the Euphrates during the war against ISIS.

If the limited number of FPSA ground troops were pulled out of Syria, along with - most crucially - the YPG’s ability to call in massive FPSA air strikes, then the YPG would be unable to stop a Turkish invasion across the long Syrian-Turkish border. The north Syrian plain is flat and could not be defended against Turkish tanks backed by air strikes.

In a joint statement released at the end of their summit, Putin, Rouhani and Erdogan said they “rejected all attempts to create new realities on the ground under the pretext of combating terrorism.” This is a clear reference to the FPSA. They said they were committed to Syria’s unity, but this is not preventing them intervening by using local proxies and allies. No Syrian parties attended the Ankara summit, the second in a series of three with the next one to be held in Teheran.

Rouhani called on Turkey to hand over Afrin to the Syrian army, something that is unlikely to happen. Russia is eager to cement its new alliance with Turkey, but at the same time is committed to Assad, whom it has just helped to retake almost all of Eastern Ghouta on the outskirts of Damascus. It was Russia’s willingness to allow Turkey to use its air force in Afrin, which had previously been defended by Russian aircraft and anti-aircraft missiles, that opened the door for the Turkish invasion on January 20 and the capture of Afrin city two months later.

The Russian-Turkish-Iranian alliance looks opportunistic and temporary, but it might have a longer life than some commentators expect. Iran badly needs diplomatic allies and commercial partners if Trump effectively withdraws the FPSA from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal on May 12, when he once again has to certify Iranian compliance, something he has said he will not do.

Turkey needs Russian support or neutrality if it is to broaden its intervention against the Kurds in northern Syria. Putin probably gave a green light to the Turkish invasion of Afrin in order to fuel the FPSA-Turkish confrontation, as the FPSA tries to protect its Kurdish allies and Turkey seeks to destroy them.

The three countries meeting in Ankara pledged to stabilize Syria, and this, to some extent, they can do because ISIS has been eliminated as a territorial state, though not as a guerrilla force. ISIS will be hoping that differences among its enemies will enable it to once again strengthen itself.

President Assad will soon control all of Damascus, Aleppo, and the most highly populated areas in Syria. He will also draw hope from the fact that, while the Syrian Kurds do not like his government, they prefer it to the prospect of being overrun by the Turkish army and its Sunni Arab auxiliaries.