Pentagon: Nothing Changed in US Syria Policy

Local Editor

The Pentagon on Thursday said "nothing has changed" in its policy in Syria, following instructions from President Donald Trump to prepare a withdrawal of forces.

Trump agreed in a National Security Council meeting this week to keep US troops in Syria but wants them out relatively soon, a senior administration official said on Wednesday.

"We've always thought that as we reach finality against ‘ISIS' in Syria, we're going to adjust the level of our presence there. So in that sense, nothing actually has changed," according to Director of the Joint Staff, Marine Lieutenant General Kenneth McKenzie at a Pentagon press briefing.

This week, Trump instructed military leaders to withdraw the 2,000 US troops stationed in Syria as soon as possible and is putting pressure on Arab allies to take over and pay for stabilizing and reconstructing areas liberated from the Wahhabi Daesh [Arabic acronym for "ISIS" / "ISIL"].

However, McKenzie noted no timeline has been given for a troop withdrawal, "One of the things that we haven't been given is a timeline, and that's actually very effective. And that might have been problem that we saw before in Afghanistan, where we operated against a timeline that was known to the enemy," McKenzie said.

In terms of long-term stabilization, according to McKenzie, the Pentagon is also looking "should actually look to partners and allies in the region that are going to be able to do many of those things."

Standing alongside McKenzie, Pentagon Spokesperson Dana White told reporters that the US will continue to back the United Nations' Geneva process, "We have to ensure that the conditions are such, and that our allies are participating so that Geneva can succeed."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team