Washington is weighing a full withdrawal of American forces from Syria, US officials told The Wall Street Journal on Thursday, as Syrian President Ahmed al‑Sharaa moves to seize control of the country’s northeast from the US-backed, Kurdish‑led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Such a move would end more than a decade of US military involvement in Syria, which began in 2014 when then‑President Barack Obama intervened in the civil war. The deliberations come as Sharaa’s government has ordered the SDF to disband following a rapid offensive over the weekend that left the militia on the brink of collapse.
The United States has previously considered a drawdown. In December 2018, President Trump abruptly announced a full pullout of roughly 2,000 troops, prompting the resignation of then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. The decision was later softened by senior advisers, leaving a residual force in place.
Today, roughly 1,000 American troops remain in Syria, mostly in the northeast alongside the SDF. A small number are stationed at Al Tanf Garrison in the south. Their primary mission is preventing an Islamic State (ISIS) resurgence, and until last weekend’s offensive, the SDF was responsible for guarding about 9,000 ISIS detainees.
The Pentagon declined to comment, and the White House did not immediately respond.
US officials say that if the SDF disbands entirely, there would be little justification for keeping American troops in Syria. They also cite the difficulty of working with Sharaa’s forces, which they say include jihadist sympathizers and soldiers tied to Al‑Qaeda and ISIS, as well as individuals implicated in alleged war crimes against Kurds and Druze.
Tensions have already escalated. In December, two US soldiers and an American interpreter were killed near Palmyra by a Syrian security officer who was about to be dismissed for extremist views. During the recent offensive, US forces shot down a Syrian government drone near an American facility, and Sharaa’s forces attacked SDF barracks at the same base.
Another factor in the withdrawal debate is the fate of thousands of ISIS detainees. On Wednesday, the US began transferring 7,000 of the roughly 9,000 prisoners to Iraq amid fears they could escape as Syrian forces take over detention sites. Last week, 200 detainees escaped from Shaddadi prison after SDF forces abandoned their posts, though Sharaa’s forces later recaptured them.