In January, President Donald Trump backtracked on his previous pledge to withdraw US forces from Syria, stating that a “small” American contingent would stay in the Arab Republic to “keep the oil”.
Newsweek has cited an unnamed senior US intelligence official as describing Washington's current strategy in Syria as a “clusterf**k” in light of the forthcoming presidential election.
As the clock is ticking for the 3 November election, “both candidates vow to end the ‘endless wars' waged by their predecessors”, Newsweek reports, referring to Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden and incumbent President Donald Trump.
In October 2019, President Donald Trump, for his part, announced that the US would be withdrawing its forces from Syria, but eventually backtracked, stating that a “small” American contingent would stay behind to “keep the oil” in the Middle Eastern country's northeast.
Newsweek also cited Pentagon spokesperson Jessica McNulty as saying that the US-led coalition does not coordinate or share intelligence with Russia in Syria.
The remarks came after Russia's Defence Ministry stated in late August that Russian servicemen had done their best to avoid a collision with American forces deployed in Syria, in line with agreements designed to avoid confrontations between the two countries' forces in the Arab Republic.
The statement followed the US National Security Council accusing Russian soldiers of being behind a collision with an American…
