在周二威斯康辛州的一次集会上，唐纳德·特朗普总统称赞他决定在叙利亚东部保留军队，以控制那里的油田，尽管警告称此举可能构成战争罪。

总统在密尔沃基发表了一次典型的夸夸其谈的演讲，谈到了最近几个月出现的多个外交政策问题。

其中包括美国在叙利亚有争议的持续存在，最近伊朗少将·卡西姆·苏莱曼尼遇刺以及随后的报复性导弹袭击。

特朗普周二表示:“人们对我说，‘你为什么要留在叙利亚。’。“因为我保留了石油，坦率地说，我们应该在伊拉克这样做，”他补充道，赢得观众的欢呼和掌声。总统此前批评他的前任没有从伊拉克油井中获利。

“所以他们说，‘特朗普在叙利亚’，我没有退出——我退出了，”总统继续说道。“我们有石油，真的很安全。我们会看看会发生什么。”

特朗普的中东政策一直不稳定，没有几个地方比叙利亚更不稳定。总统一再表示，他希望美国军队撤回国内，并从另一场不可战胜的、长期的、低强度的冲突中脱离出来。

10月，总统突然下令美国军队从叙利亚东北部靠近土耳其边境的阵地撤出。

军队部署在那里，与库尔德领导的叙利亚民主力量并肩作战，后者在美国和联盟的支持下领导了反对叙利亚伊斯兰国激进组织的运动。

土耳其军队很快入侵，试图将库尔德战士赶出边境地区。

尽管撤军似乎标志着美国在叙利亚存在的结束，特朗普后来宣布，他将在该国东部保留一支部队来保卫那里的油井。

美国军队也仍然部署在该国北部，俄罗斯和土耳其现在在那里进行联合巡逻。

部署油田的官方原因是为了不让伊拉克和黎凡特伊斯兰国残余势力控制资源，但总统本人承认，他想让美国公司开采石油。

在上周接受福克斯新闻采访时，总统一再告诉劳拉·英格拉姆，“我离开部队去拿石油。我拿了油。我唯一的军队就是拿走石油。”

英格拉姆试图帮助特朗普收回他的主张，声称美国军队是在保护而不是掠夺石油。总统回答说，“嗯，也许我们会的。也许我们不会。”

专家警告说，夺取叙利亚油田并从中获利可能构成战争罪。但是周二，特朗普——这个月是谁威胁对伊朗犯下战争罪庆祝他的策略。

叙利亚总统巴沙尔·阿萨德及其俄罗斯盟友称，美国正在从叙利亚走私石油以获取利润。阿萨德去年还说，美国军队冒着死亡的危险留在饱受战争蹂躏的国家。

国务院发言人告诉记者新闻周刊:"任何声称美国正在从叙利亚窃取石油的说法都是完全错误和毫无根据的。"

这位发言人补充说:“正如总统所说，美国是为了完成击败伊斯兰国的使命，包括不让伊斯兰国获得关键资源和收入，以使其重获力量。”。

“要做到这一点，我们将继续履行重要使命，协助我们的战略部署部队合作伙伴确保叙利亚东北部油田的安全，这些油田一旦被伊斯兰国占领并用于创收。

“叙利亚石油是给叙利亚人民的。从伊拉克和黎凡特伊斯兰国解放出来的地区的人民自己决定地方治理和经济问题。正如美国官员此前所说，自卫队已经获得了石油资源，以便为生活在东北部的人们创造收入，并协助打击伊拉克和黎凡特伊斯兰国的任务，”这位发言人说。

特朗普被指控放弃美国库尔德盟友，为土耳其入侵开绿灯。随后的冲突也使库尔德人的人力紧张，迫使当局对关押被俘伊黎伊斯兰国战士的监狱进行地下挖掘，并允许几十人逃跑。

特朗普没有道歉，否认了该地区的战略价值，并声称美国没有义务支持库尔德人领导的部队，这些部队在打击伊拉克和黎凡特伊斯兰国的战斗中伤亡超过12000人。

特朗普周二表示，美国在东部油田的持续部署将允许他“帮助我们的朋友库尔德人，因为他们就是在那里获得财富的。最终是伊拉克和黎凡特伊斯兰国……但现在是美国军方。”

这篇文章已经更新，包括国务院的评论。

唐纳德·特朗普总统在2020年1月14日威斯康星州密尔沃基举行的“保持美国伟大”竞选集会上讲话时做手势。

TRUMP SAYS U.S. TROOPS STAYED IN SYRIA 'BECAUSE I KEPT THE OIL'

At a Wisconsin rally on Tuesday, President Donald Trump lauded his decision to retain troops in eastern Syria to control oil fields there, despite warnings that such a move could constitute a war crime.

The president delivered a characteristically bombastic speech in Milwaukee, touching on multiple foreign policy issues that have come to the fore in recent months.

Among them was America's controversial continued presence in Syria, the recent assassination of Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani and subsequent retaliatory missile attacks.

"People said to me, 'Why are you staying in Syria,'" Trump said Tuesday. "Because I kept the oil, which frankly we should have done in Iraq," he added, to cheers and applause from the audience. The president has previously criticized his predecessors for not profiting off Iraqi oil wells.

"So they say, 'Trump's in Syria,' I didn't pull out—I did pull out," the president continued. "We have the oil, really secure. We'll see what happens with it."

Trump's Middle East policy has been erratic, in few places more so than Syria. The president has repeatedly voiced his desire to bring U.S. troops home and disengage from another unwinnable, long-running, low-intensity conflict there.

The president abruptly ordered the withdrawal of U.S. forces from positions in northeastern Syria near the border with Turkey in October.

Troops were deployed there alongside the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which led the campaign against the Islamic State militant group in Syria with U.S. and Coalition support.

Turkish forces invaded soon after, seeking to push Kurdish fighters away from the border region.

Though the withdrawal seemed to mark the end of U.S. presence in Syria, Trump later announced he would retain a force in the east of the country to guard the oil wells there.

American troops are also still deployed in the north of the country, where joint Russian and Turkish patrols now operate.

The official reason for the oil field deployment was to keep the resources out of the hands of ISIS remnants, but the president himself admitted he wanted to bring in American companies to extract the oil.

In an interview with Fox News last week, the president repeatedly told Laura Ingraham, "I left troops to take the oil. I took the oil. The only troops I have are taking the oil."

Ingraham tried to help Trump walk back his claim, asserting that American forces were protecting rather than pillaging the oil. The president replied, "Well, maybe we will. Maybe we won't."

Experts warned that seizing and profiting from Syrian oil fields could constitute a war crime. But on Tuesday, Trump—who this month threatened to commit war crimes against Iran—celebrated his strategy.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his Russian allies have said the U.S. is smuggling oil out of Syria for profit. Assad also said last year that American troops risk death by remaining in the war-torn country.

A State Department spokesperson told Newsweek: "Any claim that the United States is stealing oil from Syria is completely false and baseless."

"As the president has said, the United States is there to accomplish the defeat ISIS mission, including by denying ISIS access to critical resources and revenue that could allow it to regain strength," the spokesperson added.

"To do this, we are continuing the vital mission of assisting our SDF partners in securing oil fields in northeast Syria once occupied and used by ISIS to generate revenue.

"Syrian oil is for the Syrian people. The population in areas liberated from ISIS make their own decisions on local governance and economic issues. As U.S. officials have previously said, the SDF has had access to the oil resources in order to generate revenue for people living in the northeast and assist with the defeat-ISIS mission," the spokesperson said.

Trump was accused of abandoning America's Kurdish allies and green-lighting the Turkish invasion. The subsequent conflict also strained Kurdish manpower, forcing authorities to underman prisons holding captured ISIS fighters and allowing dozens to escape.

Trump was unapologetic, dismissing the strategic value of the area and claiming the U.S. had no obligation to support the Kurdish-led forces there, who sustained more than 12,000 casualties in the fight against ISIS.

Trump said Tuesday that the continued U.S. deployment around the eastern oil fields will allow him to "help our friends the Kurds, because that's where they got their wealth. And then ultimately it was with ISIS…but right now, it's with the United States military."

This article has been updated to include comment from the State Department.

President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks during a "Keep America Great" campaign rally in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on January 14, 2020.