Russian forces have “taken over” an abandoned U.S. airbase last week in Kobani, Syria, just one day after the U.S. military moved out.
All that remained in the base, located at the Syrian/Turkey border, when U.S. forces left was an airstrip, the skeleton of a gym, abandoned medical supplies, barracks and beds, CBS reported.
Russian state media have played up the occupation with footage that looks similar to a military invasion.
In fulfilling one of his campaign promises, President Donald Trump decided to leave the region in what he described as a…
“Our soldiers have left and are leaving Syria for other places, then COMING HOME! We were supposed to be there for 30 days – That was 10 years ago,” Trump wrote on Twitter in a series of tweets on Oct. 25. “When these pundit fools who have called the Middle East wrong for 20 years ask what we are getting out of the deal, I simply say, THE OIL, AND WE ARE BRINGING OUR SOLDIERS BACK HOME, ISIS SECURED!”
….COMING HOME! We were supposed to be there for 30 days – That was 10 years ago. When these pundit fools who have called the Middle East wrong for 20 years ask what we are getting out of the deal, I simply say, THE OIL, AND WE ARE BRINGING OUR SOLDIERS BACK HOME, ISIS SECURED!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 25, 2019
Trump announced the withdrawal after declaring a victory against ISIS in the region on Dec. 19, 2018, but after delays, the U.S, has finally begun to remove troops from the country. Some 500 still remain in other bases.
“We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency,” Trump wrote on Twitter.
We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 19, 2018
“We have won against ISIS. We have beaten them and we have beaten them badly,” Trump said in a video posted on Twitter the same day. “We have taken back the land and now it’s time for our troops to come back home.”
“Our boys, our young women, our men, they’re all coming back,” Trump added. “And they’re coming back now. We won. And that’s the way we want it. And that’s the way they want it.”
After historic victories against ISIS, it’s time to bring our great young people home! pic.twitter.com/xoNjFzQFTp
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 19, 2018
Opponents of Trump’s agenda have criticized the move, saying the United States is abandoning its allies and creating a power vacuum.
The allies often referred to are the Kurds in the region, a communist militia in the region who’s been a piece in a broader, ancient territorial war with Turkey. The United States first went into the region to fight ISIS.
There have been several explosions around the Turkey/Syria border that have killed and wounded scores of people over the past month.
In that time, Turkey is reportedly attempting to expand its military operation against Kurdish fighters, who now have to rely on Russian forces to help fight their enemies.
A car bomb exploded on Saturday in al-Bab, a town in the Aleppo province controlled by Turkey-backed opposition fighters, killing at least 18 people and wounding several others, Syrian opposition activists and Turkey’s Defense Ministry said.
