Day 2: U.S. troop convoy enters Syria from Iraq

FPI / January 24, 2021

On the second day of the Biden administration, a large convoy of U.S. military personnel entered northeaster Syria, crossing the border from Iraq, Syrian state media reported.

The convoy of 40 trucks and armored vehicles was backed from the air by helicopters.

The U.S. personnel entered Syria on Thursday from Iraq via the al-Waleed crossing to bring arms and logistical equipment to bases in Hasakeh and Deir Ezzor provinces, the SANA report said.

In late 2020, President Donald Trump ordered U.S. troops to withdraw from the area and redeploy to Iraq.

According to the report, the troops are set to deploy on nearby oilfields. Kurdish-controlled eastern Syria is rich in energy resources.

Bashar al-Jaafari, Syria's ambassador to the United Nations, demanded the U.S. withdraw its forces and stop its "plundering" of the country's wealth.

"The American occupation forces continue to plunder Syria's wealth of oil, gas and agricultural crops, burning and destroying what it cannot steal," Jaafari said, as quoted by SANA.

Joe Biden's choice for secretary of state, Antony Blinken, who also served as President Barack Obama's deputy national security adviser, acknowledged last year that the Obama administration's Syria approach had "failed" as it was unsuccessful in preventing the conflict from spiraling out of control, leading to widespread loss of life and displacement.

Trump repeatedly framed his decision to move troops out of Syria as part of his broader pledge to withdraw U.S. troops from "endless" foreign entanglements.

During the 2020 campaign, Biden criticized Trump's pledge.

"Imagine how demoralizing it is to the troops, our troops, as Russia pours in, mercenaries, taking literally victory laps inside of the former U.S. camps and facilities — the very ones President Trump ordered them to abandon. And Turkey attacking the very people they fought alongside of," Biden said during the campaign.

Free Press International