A Manchurian candidate stab-in-the-back narrative is beginning to take shape, the broad outlines of which are that Trump conspired with Putin and Erdogan to carve up Syria. Russian-backed Syrian troops now occupy positions abandoned by U.S. troops in Manbij. We should know soon enough if there is any substance to this new elite narrative because Turkish troops and their Syrian proxies are bearing down on Manbij. There should be a battle. If not, it would be a marvel of Russian de-confliction, and plenty of grist for Russiagaters.
Trump has pivoted to confront Turkey, offering up sanctions targeting Turkish steel that the market has laughed off. Pelosi is working with Lindsey Graham to concoct something more stringent.
Russia is skeptical that all U.S. troops are in fact exiting northeast Syria. So am I. There is no news of Deir ez-Zor (a.k.a. Deir al-Zour). Deir ez-Zor is where the Kurdish-led SDF and the U.S. fought with the Syrian Arab Army and Russian mercenaries in 2018. It is where Syria's oil fields are. Let's keep an eye Deir ez-Zor in order to understand how serious the United States is about vacating Syria.
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