The United States has started drawing down hundreds of troops from northeastern Syria, a reflection of the shifting security environment in the country since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in December, but also a move that carries risks.
The military is shuttering three of its eight small operating bases in the country’s northeast, reducing troop levels to about 1,400 from 2,000, two senior U.S. officials said. The bases are Mission Support Site Green Village, M.S.S. Euphrates and a third much smaller facility.
After 60 days, the officials said, American commanders will assess whether to make additional cuts. Commanders have recommended keeping at least 500 U.S. troops in Syria, one of the officials said.
President Trump, however, has expressed deep skepticism about keeping any U.S. troops in the country. At least for now the reductions that started on Thursday are based on ground commanders’ recommendations to close and consolidate bases, and were approved by the Pentagon and its Central Command, the officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters.
Former President Joe Biden warned on Tuesday that President Donald Trump has “taken a hatchet” to Social Security, weighing in on a critical issue for millions of Americans as the 82-year-old Democrat briefly returned to the national stage.
“In fewer than 100 days, this new administration has done so much damage and so much destruction. It’s kind of breathtaking,”
Biden charged during a speech that spanned just under a half-hour.
“They’ve taken a hatchet to the Social Security Administration.”
Economics professor puts odds of stagflation in US at 100%.
Brian Bethune, an economics professor at Boston College, told CNN that, as a result of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, the probability of stagflation in the US is “100%.”
While others have stressed this scenario could be averted, it would only happen if Trump abandons his signature trade policy.
The origins of “stagflation”: In 1965, when the British economy was slumping while inflation was simultaneously rising, a Conservative politician declared that the country had “the worst of both worlds.
Britain had “not just inflation on the one side or stagnation on the other, but both of them together. We have a sort of ‘stagflation,’” Ian Macleod told Parliament.
His portmanteau described the doomsday scenario for central bankers globally — and one that has reared its head in the United States once more following the introduction of Trump’s tariffs.
Usually, inflation rises when an economy runs hot and employment is high. Conversely, inflation slows when an economy stagnates or contracts. But when inflation rises even while an economy is weak, you get “stagflation” — the worst of both worlds.
If they raise interest rates to tame inflation, this will dampen demand and weaken the economy further. If they cut rates to stimulate demand and economic growth, inflation will risk spiraling.
These are the choices the Federal Reserve may have to make in the weeks and months ahead.