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US Says It's Guarding Oil Fields for Syrian Kurds

Jeff Seldin

   WASHINGTON - U.S. troops tasked with protecting oil fields in
   northeastern Syria are helping ensure any profits flow to the mainly
   Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, a key partner in the fight against
   the Islamic State terror group.

   U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly talked about securing the
   oil fields as a top priority despite the withdrawal of American forces,
   telling an audience last month, "We're keeping the oil '¦ $45 million a
   month? Keep the oil."

   But a key defense official said Thursday none of the profits has gone
   into Washington's coffers.

   "The revenue from this is not going to the U.S., this is going to the
   SDF," Chief Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Rath Hoffman told reporters.

   For weeks, U.S. officials have tried to downplay talk of potential
   profits as a driving force behind the Pentagon's force posture in
   northeast Syria, arguing the main concern has been Islamic State and
   its efforts to reestablish a caliphate.

   "They've moved to a position where they are doing clandestine insurgent
   operations, but they still have an eye with trying to grow that back
   and our steps are to prevent that," Hoffman said of the terror group,
   also known as IS or ISIS. "One of the ways they would be able to grow
   that back is by obtaining access to revenue including the oil fields."

   At the same time, though, officials have said revenue from the oil
   fields is critical to the U.S.-backed SDF.

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