Most of the troops currently in Syria are not involved in combat operations; they’re serving in a training capacity, protecting the Syria-Turkey border, conducting patrols, or providing cover for supply convoys in and out of the eastern part of the country, Heras said.
That modest scope was no match for the more grandiose ambitions of some in the government who spoke of using the U.S. military to compel the Iranians to withdraw, to secure a peace agreement between Bashar al-Assad’s government and rebel forces, or to keep the peace between Turkey and the Syrian Kurds. All those goals were “mission impossible for the troops,” Ford said.
“You’d need a lot more troops and, frankly, you’d need to be willing to fight,” he said. “You might even have to be willing to fight the Russians. Is it really worth it to us to start a war with the Russians in Syria?”
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