General McKenzie: The time has not yet come for our withdrawal from the Middle East. He said that a

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[size=52]General McKenzie: The time has not yet come for our withdrawal from the Middle East. He said that a hasty withdrawal may bring back ISIS threats to the region and Iraq.[/size]

[size=45]Translated by / Hamed Ahmed[/size]
[size=45]The former commander of the US Army Central Command, General Kenneth McKenzie, indicated in an article published by the New York Times that any hasty withdrawal from Iraq and Syria may have negative consequences represented by the return of ISIS threats in the region and Iraq, expecting a transition during the negotiation process with Iraq to a plan. More regular security cooperation with a smaller number of forces.[/size]
[size=45]General McKenzie said that the drone attack on the Tower 22 base in Jordan, which caused the death of three American soldiers, is a clear reason for our weak response to more than 150 attacks on American forces in Iraq and Syria since last October, noting that the United States It postponed dealing with an increasing threat to its forces in the region because it was able to defend itself well due to the military capabilities and defenses that its forces enjoy, which made Washington refrain from the danger it faces and avoided taking stronger response options.[/size]
[size=45]General McKenzie goes on to say that the Tower 22 attack was caused by the United States’ belief that it was capable of repelling the attacks, and this began to raise new questions revolving around the safety of thousands of American soldiers present in Jordan, Syria and Iraq at a time when the conflict is expanding in the Middle East, noting that Last month, the United States and Iraq began discussions that may lead to the withdrawal of American forces.[/size]
[size=45]He said that according to a report, a section of members of President Biden's administration may also consider withdrawing forces from Syria.[/size]
[size=45]General McKenzie wonders that if American forces remain in Iraq and Syria, how will the American leadership be able to prevent the continuation of these attacks against them? He says that what is needed now is a presidential decision that has been postponed for a long time, and that is represented by a firm pledge to maintain the presence of forces in Syria, along with another pledge. Undeclared to work with the Iraqi government to find a solution to maintain an agreed level of force in that country.[/size]
[size=45]The former Central Command commander says that the presence of American forces in Iraq and Syria in 2014 was part of the international coalition forces to confront the threats of ISIS, and that in mid-2019, the last stronghold of ISIS in the region inside Syria was eliminated and the alleged caliphate was destroyed, but there remained pockets of ISIS militants in the region.[/size]
[size=45]The general mentions that the 900 American forces in Syria came to support the allied Syrian Kurdish Democratic Forces and help them secure the guard of a detention center housing more than 10,000 ISIS militants, as well as 50,000 other displaced people there. He says that any withdrawal may come with great risks, noting that without American support, the Syrian Democratic Forces may face difficulties that will not enable them to continue providing adequate protection for the prisons that contain ISIS militants and many other displaced people suffering from difficult living conditions, stressing that the possibility The escape of a sufficient number of ISIS militants to enable it to revive its power will lead to new threats to Iraq and many other countries. Even the regular Syrian forces will have difficulty dealing with ISIS. For this reason, it is not yet time for American forces to withdraw from the region.[/size]
[size=45]The general says in his article that there is still a need for the presence of American forces in Iraq, which were and are still seeking to eliminate the ISIS threat in the country and enhance the capabilities of local forces in confronting this threat, indicating that it is reasonable to assume that the presence of our forces in Iraq will decrease as the situation continues. Negotiations with the government will turn into just a regular security cooperation agreement that requires a smaller number of American forces.[/size]
[size=45]The general asserts that it would be a mistake to withdraw urgently as we did in 2011, and says that we must also take into account that our continued presence in Syria depends on the presence of American forces in Iraq. He adds that negotiating the continued presence of American forces there constitutes another complex situation, noting that the Iraqi leadership faces embarrassment in this area in balancing between its need to assist allied forces in the field of training and security assistance and between the pressures of political parties in the country pushing to remove foreign forces from the country. Country.[/size]
[size=45]General McKenzie says that “with the withdrawal of coalition forces, we will have made room for the remnants of ISIS in Iraq and Syria to reorganize their ranks. This poses a danger to the United States as well, and the cost will be high at the time, and its consequences will be negative for the region as well.”[/size]
[size=45]• From the New York Times[/size]
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