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U.S. Preparing to Withdraw Its Forces from Syria
(Wall Street Journal) Dion Nissenbaum and Nancy A. Youssef - U.S. officials began informing partners in northeastern Syria of their plans to begin an immediate pullout of American forces from the region where they have been trying to wrap up the campaign against Islamic State. "The Pentagon has an order to move troops out of Syria as quickly as possible," a U.S. official said. The U.S. withdrawal will affect U.S. attempts to keep eyes on growing Iranian influence in Syria. Among the places U.S. troops were deployed was near the city of al-Tanf, close to where Iranian-backed forces also operated. The largely Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, the most effective ground force in Syria in the war against ISIS, is among the most immediately impacted by the U.S. decision, as they likely will be targeted by Turkey in the absence of their American backers.