Press
Showing 21-40 of 357 Items
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As Kurds Tracked ISIS Leader, U.S. Withdrawal Threw Raid Into Turmoil
In The News
When the international manhunt for Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State, zoomed in on a village in northwestern Syria, the United States turned to its local a...
By Nicholas Heras
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Trump, Pentagon Diverge on Need to Control Syrian Oil Fields
Pentagon leaders and President Donald Trump diverged Monday on the rationale behind keeping U.S. forces in northeastern Syria, with the president renewing his insistence that ...
By Nicholas Heras
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ISIS Leader Killed on Turkey’s Doorstep
President Donald Trump broke up three weeks of dismal news about Syria with cause for celebration in both America and the Middle East. ISIS (Islamic State) leader Abu Bakr al-...
By Nicholas Heras
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Pentagon weighs options to deter Russians in Syria
The Pentagon proposed deploying tanks to eastern Syria as an option to guard the region’s oil fields after the US was concerned Russia would cross a deconfliction line on the ...
By Nicholas Heras
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Soldiers, Bradley armored vehicles in Kuwait eyed for deployment to Syria
In The News
The Pentagon is planning to send soldiers and Bradley armored vehicles based in Kuwait to guard Syrian oil fields from ISIS fighters, according to a U.S. official. The deploy...
By Nicholas Heras
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Protecting oil: Trump's latest Syria strategy under question
In The News
After abruptly pulling US troops who protected Kurdish fighters, President Donald Trump has identified protecting oil as the new goal in Syria. But experts question if the new...
By Nicholas Heras
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Trump decided to leave troops in Syria after conversations about oil, officials say
President Trump was persuaded to leave at least several hundred troops behind in Syria only when he was told that his decision to pull them out would risk control of oil field...
By Nicholas Heras
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Pentagon planning to send tanks, armored vehicles to Syrian oil fields
The Pentagon is preparing to send tanks and armored vehicles to Syrian oil fields, according to a U.S. official – a stunning reversal of President Trump's decision to withdraw...
By Nicholas Heras
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Trump’s focus on protecting oil in Syria highlights an evolving U.S. mission
President Trump on Thursday vowed that the United States would prevent the Islamic State from regaining control of oil fields in eastern Syria, emphasizing his interest in the...
By Nicholas Heras
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Turkey, Russia reach accord on north Syria—and Trump applauds
In The News
Following a six-hour-long meeting in the Russian resort city of Sochi on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan concluded an agre...
By Nicholas Heras
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SDF Commander-in-Chief thanks President Putin for ‘protecting the Kurdish people’
In The News
he Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Commander-in-Chief, Mazlum Abdi, in a video call with Russia’s military leadership, thanked President Vladimir Putin for protecting the Kurdi...
By Nicholas Heras
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US mulls changes to Syrian withdrawal, amid continued uncertainty
Some two weeks after the White House first announced it was withdrawing US troops from northeast Syria, President Donald Trump said on Monday that a limited number of US force...
By Nicholas Heras
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Inside the Iran Hawks' Hijacking of Trump's Syria Withdrawal Plan
President Donald Trump says he wants to “end endless wars.” But the counter-Iran, counter-Russia hawks on his national security team are planning to sneak in a long-term U.S. ...
By Nicholas Heras
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Pentagon guardianship of Syrian oil fields faces pushback
In The News
For days now, despite Turkish forces jeopardizing a fragile US-brokered cease-fire in northern Syria, President Donald Trump has insisted that American forces have secured oil...
By Nicholas Heras
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Turkey’s nuclear future
In The News
While Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan complains that Turkey cannot have nuclear weapons of its own, some U.S. officials are concerned that keeping U.S. nuclear missiles...
By Nicholas Heras
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Turkish-US deal gives boost to Erdogan as he prepares for meeting with Putin
In The News
Turkey and the United States have agreed on a 5-day pause in the fighting and the establishment of a Turkish-controlled “security zone” in northern Syria that could provide An...
By Nicholas Heras
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Kurds’ Sense of Betrayal Compounded by Empowerment of Unsavory Rivals
The United States had encouraged its Kurdish allies to dismantle their defenses in northern Syria, saying it would make it easier to assure Turkey that the Kurds posed no thre...
By Nicholas Heras
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The Intelligence Fallout From Trump’s Withdrawal in Syria
In The News
This version of the forever war in Iraq and Syria was built around the work done by local U.S. allies. The fight against ISIS was America’s, but it was also being fought by Sy...
By Nicholas Heras
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Can Damascus-Ankara face off in Syria flare up?
In The News
A week-old Turkish invasion of northeast Syria combined with a US withdrawal have redrawn the lines and left Russian-backed Syrian regime troops and Ankara’s forces standing f...
By Nicholas Heras
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Turkey deal may ease domestic criticism of Trump but doubts remain
Turkey's agreement to suspend military operations against the Syrian Kurds may give President Donald Trump a reprieve from accusations he abandoned the US allies but it is als...
By Nicholas Heras
