SecDef: U.S. Stands With Syrian Democratic Forces
Esper Condemns Turkey’s Syria Incursion, Says U.S. Stands With Syrian Democratic Forces
| BY JIM GARAMONE
Defense Secretary Dr. Mark T. Esper condemned Turkey’s unilateral military incursion into Northern Syria, saying the move endangers civilians, will encourage instability and may cause the resurrection of ISIS.
Esper and Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, briefed Pentagon reporters today on the situation in the Middle East.
“This [Turkish] operation puts our [Syrian Democratic Forces] partners in harm’s way,” the secretary said. “It risks the security of ISIS prison camps and will further destabilize the region. From the president on down, we have communicated with the Turks on this issue.”
Since taking office, Esper has spoken many times with Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, and Milley has spoken with Turkish Army Gen. Yasir Guler, the country’s chief of defense. Both men reiterated to their Turkish allies the damage the incursion is doing to the U.S.-Turkish relationship and Turkey’s relationships with other NATO countries.
Both U.S. defense leaders emphasized that if Turkey continues with its operation, it must protect civilians and ensure that all ISIS combatants now held remain in confinement.
When Turkey notified us of an imminent military operation, we relocated a small contingent or less than 50 special operations soldiers out of the immediate zone of the attack,” Esper said. “This decision was made to ensure American troops were not caught up in the fighting between Turkish and Kurdish forces. The safety of our men and women in uniform remains our top priority.”
The United States is also repositioning forces in the region to improve force protection.
Esper stressed that the U.S. military is not abandoning Kurdish partner forces, noting that American forces remain with SDF formations in other parts of Syria. “We are still collocated with the SDF, with the exception of two small outposts we were forced from in a force protection mode,” Milley said. “The entire frontage of the Turkish-Syrian border is about 440 kilometers; the area of the Turkish incursion is about 120 kilometers. Elsewhere in Syria, [U.S. troops] are still collocated with them.”
The Turks have conducted air and artillery strikes inside Syria, with some direct fire from tanks, but that is coming from across the border. So far, the number of Turkish troops in Syria is in the hundreds, Milley said.
“The impulsive action of [Turkish] President [Recep] Erdogan to invade northern Syria has put the United States in a tough situation, given our relationship with our NATO ally, Turkey, who has fought alongside the United States in the past; the Syrian Democratic Forces, which has destroyed the physical caliphate of ISIS; and the safety of U.S. military personnel,” he said. “Rather than get pulled into this conflict, we put the welfare of our soldiers first while urging Turkey to forgo its operation.”
SECDEF STATEMENT
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE MARK T. ESPER: Well, good afternoon, everyone. Over the past several days, Chairman Milley and I have been working closely with President Trump and the rest of the national security team to discuss the United States’ military operations in the Middle East.
Today, we will provide you an update on the situation, and announce some changes to the U.S. force posture in the region.
Beginning with Syria, we oppose and are greatly disappointed by Turkey’s decision to launch a unilateral military incursion into northern Syria. This operation puts our SDF partners in harm’s way. It risks the security of ISIS prison camps, and will further destabilize the region.
From the president on down, we have communicated with the Turks on this issue. I spoke with Turkish Defense Minister Akar yesterday to express our strong opposition to Turkey’s actions, and reiterated the damage this is doing to our bilateral relationship. The chairman has similarly been in communication with his counterpart.
As we’ve previously reported, when Turkey notified us of an imminent military operation, we relocated a small contingent of less than 50 special operations soldiers out of the immediate zone of attack. This decision was made to ensure American troops were not caught up in the fighting between Turkish and Kurdish forces.
The safety of our men and women in uniform remains our top priority. As such, we are repositioning additional forces in the region to assist with force protection as necessary.
The SDF also transferred two ISIS militants, known as the Beatles, who were involved in the kidnapping and murder of U.S. and U.K. citizens in Syria, to our custody. They are being held in a safe and secure location in the region, but outside of Syria.
At this time, we have made no additional changes to our force posture in Syria, but will continue to assess the situation and our troop levels there. To be clear, we are not abandoning our Kurdish partner forces and U.S. troops remain with them in other parts of Syria.
The impulsive action of President Erdogan to invade northern Syria has put the United States in a tough situation, given our relationship with our NATO-allied Turkey, who has fought alongside the United States in the past; the Syrian Democratic Forces, who helped us destroy the physical caliphate of ISIS; and the safety of U.S. military personnel.
Rather than get pulled into this conflict, we put the welfare of our soldiers first, while urging Turkey to forego its operation, and working hard with us to address their concerns through the development of a security zone along the border.
We remain in close coordination with the Syrian Democratic Forces, who helped us destroy the physical caliphate of ISIS. But I will not place American service members in the middle of a longstanding conflict between the Turks and the Kurds. This is not why we are in Syria.
We will continue to work with the 80 members of the Defeat-ISIS Coalition and the Syrian Democratic Forces to ensure the defeat of ISIS.
Turning to Iran. It is clear that the Iranians are responsible for the recent attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities. Our international partners agree, including the United Kingdom, France and Germany, who have said so publicly. Despite Iran’s attempts to deny their involvement, the evidence recovered so far proves that Tehran is responsible for these attacks.
Iran’s continued malign behavior is part of its larger campaign to destabilize the Middle East and disrupt the global economy. Iran’s attempts to use terror, intimidation and military force to advance its interests are inconsistent with international norms.
Today, I spoke with the Saudi minister of defense to discuss the status of Saudi Arabia’s defensive capabilities and our ongoing efforts to protect our partners from further Iranian aggression. Saudi Arabia is a long-standing security partner in the Middle East, and has asked for additional support to supplement their own defenses and defend the international rules-based order.
In response to continued threats in the region, I’ve ordered the deployment to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia of two additional fighter squadrons and supporting personnel, along with additional Patriot and THAAD [terminal high altitude area defense] air and missile defense batteries. Taken together with other deployments I’ve extended or authorized within the last month, this involves about 3,000 United States forces. In fact, in response to Iranian provocation since May, the U.S. has deployed in array of additional capabilities to the region, including airborne early warning aircraft squadrons, maritime patrol aircraft squadrons, Patriot air and missile defense batteries, B-52 bombers, a carrier strike group, amphibious transport dock, unmanned aircraft, and engineering and support personnel. This has involved the deployment of about 14,000 additional U.S. forces to the region. The U.S. military has on alert additional Army, Navy, Marine and Air Force units to quickly provide increased capability in the region, if necessary.
The United States remains committed to protecting our allies, ensuring the free flow of resources needed to support the global economy, and demonstrating our commitment to upholding the rules-based international order. I urge other like-minded countries, especially our allies in Europe, to follow the United States’ lead and join us with their own defensive assets to ensure stability in the region.
As we continue to implement the National Defense Strategy, my aim for the Department of Defense is to remain operationally flexible in accordance with the concept of the dynamic force employment. This deployment of troops is one example of how we will dynamically manage our force posture to align with the national priorities while meeting the challenges of today’s very complex security environment. We will soon employ naval forces, brigade combat teams, bombers and other military capabilities in a similarly unpredictable fashion to place the right force in the right location at the right time.
Lastly, our ability to defend U.S. personnel, allies and interest abroad depends on predictable, adequate, sustained and timely funding from Congress. Regretfully, we are under — under a continuing resolution once again. C.R.s cause great damage to military readiness and disrupt our ability to modernize our forces for the future. I strongly urge Congress to pass a defense appropriations and authorization bill now so we can move forward with the many important programs needed to ensure our readiness and deter our adversaries