IRAN/ISIS/SYRIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration announced Wednesday [12-19-18] that all 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria will start returning home very soon. President Donald Trump, who had long expressed his discomfort with an extended military deployment in Syria, explained his decision in a tweet: ‘We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency.’ The decision carries implications for the administration’s Iran policy, as Tehran and its client, the Assad regime, are poised to take advantage of the American withdrawal. In September, Trump’s National Security Adviser, John Bolton, stated the U.S. would not leave Syria ‘as long as Iranian troops are outside Iranian borders, and that includes Iranian proxies and militias.’ The sudden reversal of this declared policy could have serious consequences for U.S. strategy in the region. The Iranians have been working to establish a so-called ‘land bridge’ or territorial continuum stretching from Tehran to the Mediterranean via Iraq and Syria. At present, the U.S.-controlled zone in eastern Syria poses a major obstacle to this objective.”
–Tony Badran, “Trump reversal on Syria policy means big gains for Iran,” USA Today, December 19, 2018 9:24 pm