Videos of the Day: US Will Leave 200 ‘Peacekeeping’ Troops in Syria

Epoch Newsroom
2/22/2019
Updated:
2/23/2019

The United States began operations in Syria in 2014 to eradicate ISIS, the Islamist terrorist group, and decimated the organization under Trump.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement, “A small peacekeeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for [a] period of time.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham applauded the move, writing “This decision will ensure that we will not repeat the mistakes of Iraq, in Syria.”

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Venezuelan Troops Kill One in First Bloodshed Linked to Aid Entry

Venezuelan soldiers opened fire on members of an indigenous community near the border with Brazil on Feb. 22, killing at least one and injuring others, as President Nicolas Maduro defied U.S.-backed efforts to bring aid into his economically devastated nation.

The United States, which is among dozens of Western nations to recognize opposition leader Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s legitimate president, has been stockpiling aid in the Colombian frontier town of Cucuta to ship across the border this weekend.

Maduro has denied there is a humanitarian crisis in Venezuela despite widespread shortages of food and medicine and hyperinflation.

And the Venezuelan government block the border with Colombia, Colombia’s migration agency said on Friday.

Venezuelan national guard troops on Friday lined up across the road to close the border with Brazil.

This week Venezuela also closed the maritime border with the Dutch Caribbean islands.

An ambulance carrying people that were injured during clashes in the southern Venezuelan town of Kumarakapay, near the border with Brazil, on Feb. 22, 2019. (Reuters/Ricardo Moraes)
An ambulance carrying people that were injured during clashes in the southern Venezuelan town of Kumarakapay, near the border with Brazil, on Feb. 22, 2019. (Reuters/Ricardo Moraes)
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Spacex Has Launched Its First Private Mission to the Moon

A SpaceX rocket took off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, Thursday night.

It was carrying a spacecraft made by an Israeli company. The company—a non-profit—is funded by the Israeli government and a variety of investors, including U.S. Republican mega-donor, Sheldon Adelson.

If it succeeds, Israel will become just the fourth country to land a controlled touchdown after the United States, the former Soviet Union, and China.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Israel's first spacecraft designed to land on the moon lifts off on the first privately-funded lunar mission at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, on Feb. 21, 2019. (Joe Skipper/Reuters)
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Israel's first spacecraft designed to land on the moon lifts off on the first privately-funded lunar mission at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, on Feb. 21, 2019. (Joe Skipper/Reuters)