U.S. President Donald Trump's decision this week to withdraw American troops from Syria sparked disappointment in Amman, with one senior Jordanian official telling Israel Hayom the move is akin to "stabbing an ally in the back and forsaking it."
Trump announced Wednesday that the U.S. would be pulling all its troops out from Syria, saying they had succeeded in their mission to defeat the Islamic State terrorist group and were no longer needed in the country.
The decision was met with shock by U.S. allies in the international coalition that has been fighting Islamic State in recent years. These allies include France, the United Kingdom, and Jordan, which views the American presence in the region as crucial to ending the Syrian civil war and keeping Iran in check.
The Jordanian official who spoke to Israel Hayom said: "Israel enjoys proven air supremacy to deter Iranian troops, but Jordan is facing a tangible threat in the wake of the American decision. Having U.S. troops leave southwestern Syria, an area that borders Jordan, will have destabilizing repercussions."
The U.S.'s Kurdish allies were also outraged by Trump's announcement. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which partnered with U.S. troops for years as the key force against Islamic State militants, said in a strongly worded statement Thursday that the fight against the jihadi group was at a "decisive" stage that required even more support from the U.S.-led coalition.
"The war against terrorism has not ended and [Islamic State] has not been defeated," the statement said. "The decision to pull back will directly undermine the efforts of the final battle of defeating the terrorists … and it will lead to political-military vacuum."
One senior SDF official said they might be forced to release some 3,200 captured Islamic State fighters, which could give a boost to the terrorist group.
Turkey has repeatedly warned that it might launch an offensive in northeastern Syria against the SDF-controlled enclave there, saying the militia is aligned with Kurdish separatists in Turkey. In the wake of Trump's decision, Turkey may show less restraint and move ahead with such an offensive.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the SDF might boost its presence along the border with Turkey to prepare for a possible invasion.
