President Donald Trump declared victory over ISIS in Syria this morning…
We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 19, 2018
…amidst reports that the Pentagon will begin pulling troops out:
JUST IN: US is preparing to withdraw a significant number of US troops from Syria, two senior defense officials and one person familiar with the plan tell @NBCNews. https://t.co/bAqgAlxw2r
— NBC News (@NBCNews) December 19, 2018
From NBC News:
The U.S. is preparing to withdraw a significant number of troops from Syria, according to two senior defense officials and one person familiar with the plan.
The two senior defense officials said the White House would announce the move as early as Wednesday.
President Trump declared on Twitter Wednesday morning: “We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency.”
The U.S. military confirms having 503 U.S. troops in Syria, even though defense officials acknowledge having more than 2,000 there at times. The military mission is to defeat ISIS but troops have also been used more for stabilization efforts in recent weeks.
However, at a State Department briefing one week ago, it was suggested that U.S. troops would remain in Syria even after the caliphate had been defeated:
From Dec. 11 @statedept briefing on #Syria with Brett McGurk:
"I think it’s fair to say Americans will remain on the ground after the physical defeat of the caliphate, until we have the pieces in place to ensure that that defeat is enduring."https://t.co/YSZomDKSMS
1/— Matt Lee (@APDiploWriter) December 19, 2018
McGurk on #Syria from Dec. 11 @statedept briefing (con't):
"Even as the end of the physical caliphate is clearly now coming into sight, the end of ISIS will be a much more long-term initiative.
2/https://t.co/YSZomDKSMS— Matt Lee (@APDiploWriter) December 19, 2018
McGurk on #Syria from Dec. 11 @StateDept briefing (con't):
Nobody working on these issues day to day is complacent. Nobody is declaring a mission accomplished. Defeating a physical caliphate is one phase of a much longer-term campaign."
3/https://t.co/YSZomDKSMS— Matt Lee (@APDiploWriter) December 19, 2018
McGurk on #Syria from Dec. 11 @StateDept briefing (con't):
"We have obviously learned a lot of lessons in the past, so we know that once the physical space is defeated, we can’t just pick up and leave."
4/4
https://t.co/YSZomDKSMS— Matt Lee (@APDiploWriter) December 19, 2018
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Related:
Russia blames Israel after Syria accidentally shoots down Russian military aircraft https://t.co/Bnztb8eeUn
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) September 18, 2018
John Kerry admits the Obama administration did not get 100 percent of Syria's chemical weapons stockpile https://t.co/SoJ9JjQeNr
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) September 13, 2018
The ACLU is suing to block an American ISIS suspect who was captured in Syria from being returned to Syria https://t.co/vn980V3SB0
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) June 7, 2018
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