"This base transfer occurred amid force protection concerns sparked by escalating tensions between the United States and Iran and its proxy militias, which CJTF-OIR said led to an acceleration of the long-term transfer plan."
Since the outbreak of violence in Yemen in 2015, Iran-backed Houthi rebels have launched more than 250 missiles across the border killing at least 206 civilians and wounding nearly 950. Roughly 20,000 people have been displaced by the attacks.
2019 thus far is the second highest amount of pounds of cargo dropped in support of OIR since the U.S. launched operations to combat ISIS militants rampaging the region in 2014.
The future of the five-year fight against Islamic State militants is unclear, along with the entire strategy underpinning the U.S. troop presence in the U.S. Central Command region.
It’s common for U.S. special operators to don patches of partner forces. But in 2016, American military commanders banned the wear of YPG and YPJ patches after Turkey became outraged following the circulation of photos of American commandos brandishing the patches.
As U.S. forces make a grab for the exit in a hurry, reports and video coming in suggest U.S. troops are dumping equipment and leaving bases in tact while stripping sensitive items.
A former U.S. military intelligence operator who spent years working with special operations forces told Military Times that the potential spillover of sensitive tradecraft or information by the SDF was “super problematic," but also a symptom of the lack of a genuine strategy in the region.
With the U.S. out of the picture, the stage is set for a potential bloody conflict between the major players in Syria’s civil war that has raged since 2011.
The U.S.-trained force has been abandoned by its American partners and is under sustained assault by Turkish forces and their ragtag crew of proxy fighters — some who have reportedly fought under ISIS and al-Qaida banners.