"Right now we are not withdrawing [US troops from Syria]," Mattis told the Senate Armed Services Committee. "We are continuing the fight, we are going to expand it and bring in more regional support."
According to the US top defense official, the United States will expand its anti-Daesh operation with the help of regional states.
Amid Trump's statements concerning the milled pullout of US military, Defense Secretary James Mattis has previously outlined the possibility of terrorist groups regrouping in remote positions in Syria, saying to the US president that the withdrawal would reverse the progress achieved so far.
On March 3, US President Donald Trump announced his plans to pull out the country's troops from Syria in the nearest term, was met with a conflicting reaction from the president's special envoy to the US-led coalition, Brett McGurk, as well as incoming US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Joseph Dunford and a number of other country's officials.
[sputniknews.com]
26/4/18
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The United States will expand its role in Syria, Secretary of Defense James Mattis has said. The expansion comes in response to increased Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) offensives in the region.
ReplyDelete"Right now we are not withdrawing," Mattis told the Senate Armed Services Committee. "We are continuing the fight, we are going to expand it and bring in more regional support. This is the biggest shift we’re making right now."
In his statement, Mattis maintained that the US was not stepping in to take sides in the ongoing conflict in Syria. “No military solution is possible in the Syrian civil war,” Mattis said.
In his testimony, Mattis maintained that the US was not stepping in to take sides in the ongoing Syrian civil war. “No military solution is possible in the Syrian civil war,” Mattis said. “We continue to support a diplomatic solution as part of the UN-led peace process.”
RT