For east Syria, US troops are about much more than oil.
Their hopes reflect the expectations being piled onto the operation, even as President Donald Trump flip-flopped on the scope and duration of troops deployment. He initially ordered all troops out of Syria last month, then decided to keep a force in place to hold the oil infrastructure.
So when Turkey invaded northeastern Syria last month, hundreds of residents of towns and villages east of the Euphrates held angry protests — not against Ankara but against the Syrian government and its Iranian allies. They feared the invasion would empower Damascus to send troops to their areas and restore control.
It is still early to see if Washington plans to act on Trump's promises to bring in U.S. companies to modernize the oil fields. He said he intends to make a deal with an"Exxon Mobil or one of our great companies to go in there and do it properly." Abu Layla said he met last week with Joel Rayburn, U.S. special envoy for Syria, who expressed support for the protests and an understanding for concerns about Iran's threat to the area.U.S. troops, including mechanized armored vehicles used for the first time in Syria, are deploying in bases in Hassakeh and Deir el-Zour provinces. In one case, U.S.
The force's Kurdish commander, Mazloum Abdi, said the American troops will work"in coordination with our forces" and would continue in operations against IS remnants and in training Kurdish-led forces. In a subtle hint, Assad said in an interview last week his forces are no match for the U.S. forces but their presence may spark"popular resistance," likening it to what happened in Iraq before the U.S. withdrawal in 2011.
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