As another sign of what a weak president Trump is in the face of bureaucratic resistance, the President isn't pullout out all U.S. troops from Syria after all. He is leaving 200 in the country. In the Vox article Alex Ward writes "[i]t’s unclear what, exactly, the US troops will do" but they don't have to do anything. Just by being there they will keep Turkey from overrunning the U.S.'s Kurdish allies (Alex does note the soldiers' presence will "keep Turkey at bay"). In other words, American soldiers will mostly be functioning as human shields.
