U.S. policy toward Syria will change "because none of them worked" over the past century, and the country's military footprint will shrink from eight bases to one, according to the newly appointed U.S. special envoy.
The comments were made during an interview with the Turkish channel NTV late on Monday by Thomas Barrack, who was appointed special envoy by President Trump last month, just after the unexpected lifting of U.S. sanctions on Syria, as Breitbart News reported.
On the ground in Syria, the majority of the approximately 2,000 American troops are stationed in the northeast. Islamic State was driven back from huge parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014, and they are collaborating with local forces to stop them from regaining control.
Following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in December by rebels, the US and other nations are reestablishing ties with Damascus, now led by Ahmed al-Sharaa.
For the first time since 2012, Barrack—who is also the United States ambassador to Turkey—raised the American flag over the ambassador's residence in Damascus last week.
When asked about the future of U.S. troops in Syria and how the Trump administration plans to handle the situation, Barrack said:
"What I can assure you is that our current Syria policy will not be close to the Syria policy of the last 100 years, because none of these have worked."
An interview transcript of the recent comments shows that he mentioned cutting the number of bases from eight to one as one of the more significant aspects of that change.
In April, reporters were told by two security sources at U.S. military facilities that military equipment and trucks were already leaving eastern Deir el-Zor and were being concentrated in Hasakah province.
The withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Deir el-Zor province was supposedly part of the consolidation plan, according to one of the sources.
The military presence will be lowered "if and when appropriate," depending on conditions, according to a U.S. State Department official.
According to Barrack, the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are an ally of the United States and a "very important factor" for Congress, who helps guide the policy.
He also emphasized the importance of directing them to become a part of a new Syrian government: "Everyone needs to be reasonable in their expectations," he said.
The SDF is the primary ally for the United States-led coalition against Islamic State militants in Syria.
