ISIS RETURNS: Trump quitting Syria to create ‘POWER VACUUM’ fuelling Iran-Israel war
ISIS could exploit the “power vacuum” Donald Trump will create withdrawing US troops in Syria to regain power in the region while Iran and Israel come to blow over control of southern Syria, former foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind warned.
By AURORA BOSOTTI
Express.co.uk
Wed, Dec 26, 2018
Donald Trump announced last week on Twitter US troops deployed to Syria will be returning home after nearly four years of providing support to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighting to bring the Assad Government down. United States allies have warned the Islamic State (ISIS) could exploit the withdrawal of American troops to regain control over the areas they lost to the US-led coalition in Syria. Sir Malcolm Rifkind also suggested the US retreat could fuel further conflict between arch-enemies Iran and Israel over control of southern Syria.
Sir Malcolm told LBC: “That’s the danger of using tweeting to announce major policies. You are limited to a certain number of words and, in any event, Trump is no interested in policy.
“He wanted to claim a great victory to his own populist supporters in the US because ISIS no longer controls territory. That is true and it has been a great achievement by the international community, that instead of controlling large swathes of Syria and Iraq they no longer.
“The idea that ISIS has disappeared as a threat – there are still thousands of IS terrorists in Syria and no doubt elsewhere. If the United States leaves and creates a vacuum then, as we know, nature doesn’t like vacuums and it gets filled with other things.”
US soldiers were first deployed to Syria in 2014 as part of a coalition with the United Kingdom, France, Jordan and Bahrain to lead the fight against the threat of ISIS. President Trump justified his decision claiming ISIS has been “completely defeated.”
The former cabinet minister continued: “It’s not just ISIS though. It’s also that wanting the US to be leaving are the Russians and the Iranians.
“The Iranians are getting very close to having a major will war with the Israelis over south Syria. America pulling its troops out now – the timing couldn’t be worse.”
Israel has voiced concern Iran and Hezbollah could use exploit instability in Syria to strengthen its influence in the area and to build up new launching pads to attack Tel Aviv.
Earlier this year, Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu warned his defence team was working on a weapons system with “special capabilities that no other country has” and able to “reach anywhere in the area”.
Responding to the US withdrawal announcement, Mr Natanyahu said: “The decision to withdraw 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria will not change our consistent policy.
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