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Bitterness, Fear in Syria as US Withdraws Troops

Heather Murdock

   ISTANBUL - For many people in parts of Syria, news that the United
   States was withdrawing troops on Monday was another nail in the coffin,
   a death knell or some other cliché that won't help them survive what
   may be another onslaught of chaos.

   Manbij, a city near the Syrian border with Turkey, has been ruled by
   four different groups since 2011, including Islamic State militants and
   now the Kurdish forces who govern the northeast. Locals say they have
   lived in relative peace for the past few years, but many believe these
   calm days are numbered.

   Both Turkey and the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have
   threatened to take the city from the U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian
   Democratic Forces. The U.S. withdrawal will make way for Turkey's
   long-planned incursion into Syria.

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