KHSHAM, Syria
At a makeshift military outpost abutting a natural gas field in eastern Syria, the signs of the country’s violent upheaval are everywhere. Bombed-out concrete buildings lie in ruins. The pipes that once carried liquefied natural gas are shredded and twisted.
A tattered U.S. flag strung between 40-foot-tall gas processing towers flies high over the base, a visible symbol that American troops are here and not planning on leaving soon.
“We’ve got the flagpole planted,” said Army Lt. Alan Favalora, a Louisiana National Guard soldier at Conoco, the name the base acquired from the long- departed U.S. oil and gas firm that once operated the wells. “We want them to know we are committed to this region.”
White House officials have said they are reviewing the troop presence in Syria — an announcement that has raised concerns that President Joe Biden could reconsider the deployment as part of a larger scaling back of U.S. troops in the Middle East.
Winners and losers from the overnight shutdown
Winners and losers from the overnight shutdownby wpjljron
Friday, February 9th, 2018.Winners and losers from the overnight shutdownIt was a government shutdown that nobody wanted. Except maybe Rand PaulRandal (Rand) Howard PaulPentagon: War in Afghanistan will cost billion in 2018 Overnight Finance: Senators near two-year budget deal | Trump would ‘love to see a shutdown’ over immigration | Dow closes nearly 600 points higher after volatile day | Trade deficit at highest […]
It was a government shutdown that nobody wanted. Except maybe Rand Paul
Yet because congressional leaders cut a blockbuster budget deal so close to the funding deadline, all lawmakers, aides and reporters could do was watch as Paul, the GOP senator from Kentucky, repeatedly blocked efforts to speed up the vote in the upper chamber.