Washington (April 05, 2018): United States President Donald Trump agreed in a National Security Council meeting this week to keep US troops in Syria a little longer to defeat Islamic State but wants them out relatively soon, a senior administration official said on Wednesday.
Trump did not approve a specific withdrawal timetable at Tuesday’s meeting, the official said. He wants to ensure Islamic State militants are defeated but wants other countries in the region and the United Nations to step up and help provide stability in Syria, the official said.
“We’re not going to immediately withdraw but neither is the president willing to back a long-term commitment,” the official said.
His advisers have been urging him to maintain at least a small force in Syria to ensure the militants are defeated and to prevent Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s ally Iran from gaining an important foothold.
“The purpose would be to … train local enforcement as well as have our allies and partners in the region who have a lot more at risk to put more skin into the game,” Sanders told a briefing. “Certainly that’s something that the president wants to see happen, for them to step up and for them to do more.”
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