No Syria-like pullout from Afghanistan: US

KABUL: Afghans should not misconstrue America’s sudden and contentious withdrawal from parts of Syria as a precursor to a similar move in Afghanistan, US Defence Secretary Mark Esper said Monday.

The Pentagon chief also hinted that some sort of residual US force might remain in Syria to protect oil fields, but stressed no decision had been taken. The US last week announced the withdrawal of 1,000 American troops from northeast Syria, days after Turkey launched an offensive against the previously US-backed Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara considers a terrorist group. The move provoked outrage from observers and even members of President Donald Trump’s Republican Party, who saw the sudden withdrawal as a betrayal of the same Kurdish fighters the US had been training.