President Trump’s administration has ‘no timeline’ for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria, according to the State Department.
“We have no timeline for our military forces to withdraw from Syria,” a senior State Department official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, told reporters Friday.
The lack of a deadline might reassure allies who are worried that President Trump’s unexpected decision to withdraw signaled a hasty exit, one that prompted Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’ resignation. But insiders say that the “no timeline” rhetoric shouldn’t be interpreted to mean that Trump’s decision is being watered down by the State Department or the Pentagon.
“They understand… that now their job is to make real plans for how that pullout happens, even if the question of a particular timeline hasn’t been determined,” David Adesnick, a research director and Syria expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told the Washington Examiner. “The president needs to see real movement, he’s going to hold people accountable for that. And this is not a reversion to the previous policy.”
Pompeo is making an eight-nation swing through the Middle East, in part to assure Arab allies who worry that the Syria policy reflects a broader disinterest in the region. “The United States is not leaving the Middle East,” another senior State Department official told reporters. “Despite reports to the contrary and false narratives around the Syria decision, we are not going anywhere.”
The briefing was a preview of Pompeo’s trip, which will feature an emphasis on unifying the Arab states to isolate Syrian dictator Bashar Assad and counter his Iran regime support.
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State Department: "No timeline for our military forces to withdraw from Syria” https://t.co/DH1Gp02Ocm
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) January 4, 2019
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