A senior U.S. official confirmed Wednesday that American forces are leaving Syria, now that President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s government is assuming responsibility for combating terrorist groups. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that the roughly 1,000 troops stationed in Syria would be fully withdrawn within two months.
The Pentagon and U.S. Central Command declined to comment. But the drawdown is already underway. Last week, the Syrian army took control of the al-Tanf military base in the country’s southeast, ending a decade of American operations at the strategic garrison near the Jordanian and Iraqi borders.
From $10 million bounty to the White House
The speed of al-Sharaa’s transformation from U.S.-designated terrorist to American partner has no modern precedent. He led Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an al-Qaeda offshoot, and carried a $10 million State Department bounty. His forces toppled Bashar al-Assad in a lightning offensive in December 2024, ending nearly 14 years of civil war.
By May 2025, Trump was meeting him in Riyadh and announcing sanctions relief. By November, al-Sharaa became the first Syrian head of state to visit the White House. Trump called him “a tough guy from a tough place.”
The deal took shape fast. Syria joined the 90-member Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. Congress permanently repealed the Caesar Act sanctions as part of the December defense spending bill. Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces signed a January 30 agreement to integrate into Syria’s national army, handing over headquarters, airports, and oil fields in the northeast.
The risk that stays behind
ISIS has not disappeared. In December, a militant attack near Palmyra killed two Iowa Army National Guard soldiers and an American interpreter. U.S. and Jordanian forces responded with massive airstrikes, hitting over 70 targets in a single night. Over the past two months, coalition forces struck more than 100 ISIS positions and captured or killed over 50 militants.
The January offensive by Syrian government forces against Kurdish areas also created a security vacuum, with thousands of ISIS detainees escaping or requiring emergency transfer to Iraq. CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper said forces “remain poised to respond to any ISIS threats.”
SDF commander Mazloum Abdi warned at Munich that withdrawing now is “not a good idea.” The World Bank estimates Syria’s reconstruction at $216 billion. Whether al-Sharaa can hold the country together and keep ISIS suppressed will determine if this bet pays off — or if American forces end up returning. This is part of The Rio Times’ daily coverage of global affairs and Latin American financial news.
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