[Non-English shouting] These are some of the American troops who’ve been ordered to leave Syria. They’re driving through the mostly Kurdish city of Qamishli and headed to Iraq. It’s vegetables that are bouncing off the armor and sticking to the windows. The U.S. troop pullout is controversial. Many in the Kurdish north feel betrayed. American soldiers were essentially protecting them from attacks by Turkish forces. But President Trump has long pushed for an American pullout. “I don’t want to be in Syria forever. It’s sand, and it’s death.” Elsewhere in Syria, the withdrawal is less eventful. Military convoys join routine traffic on the highways. But it’s not just the exit that draws attention. It’s what the Americans leave behind. Like this outpost near the city of Manbij, filmed by a Russian journalist. Here’s what it looked like when U.S. troops were stationed in the area. Now they’re gone, and Russian media has arrived, literally opening the gates. Russia is trying to fill the void left by the U.S. in Syria, moving its forces into Kurdish areas to broaden influence across the country. In social media posts, Russian reporters make a special point to highlight the signs of a hasty American withdrawal: discarded footballs, and empty sleeping quarters. At another base, it’s a “Harry Potter” book and hand-drawn signs supporting the troops. But at the Lafarge cement factory, a former base, the U.S. disposes of what it left behind. A defense official announces that American planes bombed U.S. munitions stored there to prevent anyone else from using them. How quickly do Russian troops move in? Here are U.S. and Russian troops at the same strategic location, just two days apart. And it’s not just Russians moving in. A lone Syrian Army soldier scales a hill that’s close by and waves the flag of President Bashar al-Assad’s government, which originally lost this territory to armed rebels seven years ago. Small groups of American troops will remain elsewhere in Syria on different missions. But for now, the U.S. role in working with and defending Kurds in the north has come to an abrupt end.