BEIRUT (AP) — Residents of eastern Syria hope the U.S. troop mission there will have an impact far broader than just protecting oil fields, counting on it to bring stability and prosperity and keep out the Syrian government.

Expectations are being piled onto the operation, which keeps U.S. troops in the middle of a complex political geography packed with forces from multiple rivals, even after President Donald Trump flip-flopped on the scope and duration of the deployment.

Trump initially ordered all troops out of Syria last month, then decided to keep a force in place to hold the oil infrastructure.

That keeps the U.S. troops in the middle of eastern Syria's complex political geography, rich in oil and gas and packed with Turkish, Kurdish, Russian, Syrian and Iranian-backed troops.