The Pentagon confirmed Thursday that there are actually 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria, rather than the 900 it previously said were in the country.
The approval comes as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office in a month's time, with members of his transition team arriving at the Pentagon to begin the transition for the incoming administration and the incoming administration. It took place a few days later.
Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder would not say whether Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin or President Joe Biden knew that there were 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria instead of 900, but did not say whether Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin or President Joe Biden knew that there were 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria, instead of 900. He characterized the increase as “surprising.”
Ryder said at a press conference on Thursday:
As you know, we have regularly explained that approximately 900 U.S. troops are deployed to Syria. I recently learned that number is even higher, given the situation and the great interest in Syria, and when asked to look into it, I learned today that there are actually about 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria. I did.
Rider said the unit is “considered a temporary rotational force that deploys as missions change,” while 900 soldiers are on “extended deployments” of nine to 12 months. .
“Given that this number is significantly higher than what we have been describing, we wanted to share this information with you as soon as we found it,” he said.
Ryder said all 2,000 troops are focused on the U.S. mission of defeating Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. He declined to say how many special operations forces were involved, but said most were from the Army.
He said the additional forces existed to meet “new mission requirements” related to that mission.
It is unclear why the number of U.S. troops actually in Syria was not told sooner, when the defense secretary's chief spokesperson told reporters it was 900.
He also could not say when the military presence increased other than “it has been for a while.” When asked, he said: “I think it's fair to say it's going to take at least a few months.”
Ryder said Austin has not spoken with Gen. Michael Kurilla, commander of Central Command, about the troop count discrepancy.
Ryder said he would seek to confirm what orders Austin himself signed to Syria and provide further information.
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