Pentagon Deeply Involved in the Detainee Operation in Syria

Is it too late for the United States to withdraw its forces and aids from the Kurdish camps in Syria without causing chaos and potential jailbreaks?

Pentagon has been deeply invested in operations in Syria in the past year and $1 million has been poured into detaining Islamic State fighters in camps of Kurdish militias in northern Syria by the United States military. However, this involvement seemed to only increase and complicate.

While President Trump has promised to withdraw remaining United States troops from Syria, this means that the operation that Pentagon has been deeply invested in is being suspended, along with the over $200 million State Department recovery funds.

Thousands of detainees and other Syrian militants were held in camps defended by American troops and the maintenance of these camps has been dependent on U.S. funding and support. The money has been poured into strengthening fencing along the camps, securing temporary jails for captures, etc.

Many have expressed the fear that these camps and temporary jails would turn into an extremist manifestation that could turn into another Iraq war. Even though American officers believed that American assistance has been mostly financial instead of supplying the personnel, critics are wary that the camps would not have enough security and defense and losing American troops could lead to potential jailbreaks and chaos in these camps.

The detainment of these militants have of course imposed a tremendous strain on the Kurdish camps. Up to 50 or 60 fighters were constrained in a single room and therefore each room requires an intense amount of defense, overseeing and security. A spokesman for the Kurdish-led militia, the Syrian Democratic Forces, has described that “the process has been tedious. The interrogation is taking time, and filtering the prisoners has not been an easy task. We need all kinds of support from the international coalition.”

American officers have expressed a slightly different hope, as Nathan A. Sales, the State Department’s counterterrorism coordinator, commented that “it is critical that countries take their citizens back and prosecute them in a timely manner commensurate with their crimes.” He appeals to the partners of this operation to take initiative to ease the strain imposed upon the Kurdish militias at the moment.

Despite the tremendous progress made on overcoming and dismantling ISIS in Iraq and Syria, there are still remaining fears and suspicions of remaining planned insurgences, terrorist attacks and the remaining forces of its ideology. Some questioned that if the detainees were not sent back to their own countries, whether Syria has a proper way to handle them in the long term. This criticism was responded by General Joseph L Votel, the head of the military’s Central Command, that it’s a working project for both America and the Syrian Democratic Forces.

Pentagon also has addressed the issue of security with the withdrawal of American troops from Syria and confirmed the more pressing problem to be one of capacity. On the other hand, Kurdish officers have stated that the camps met international standards and launched an attempt to ease the strain on these camp defenses by releasing some of the women, children and local civilians that were wrongly detained in these camps.

Even though the Trump administration has attempted to decrease U.S. involvement in the chaos of Syria and Islamic fighters, the Pentagon has become too entangled and invested in detaining militants in camps and this operation to withdraw its aids immediately without consequences or repercussions.

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