(CNN) It was set to be the most discreet yet potent measure of US influence in the Middle East. Over 2,000 American special forces in the north of Syria, fighting the fight against ISIS, but also providing a significant bang for their buck. The troops out there had managed three things to date:First, they fought ISIS alongside the Syrian Kurds who run that area of north Syria. Second, they kept the Syrian Kurds slightly in check. Finally, this sudden move repeats something the US has a history of: abandoning the Kurds in the Middle East.

Source: CNN December 19, 2018 18:21 UTC