Counter-IS officials temper Trump’s rush to pull out of Syria

Jack Detsch

Apr 3, 2018

U.S army soldier holds a gun as he stands guard next to an armoured vehicle as Brett McGurk, U.S. envoy to the coalition against Islamic State, visits the town of Tabqa, Syria June 29, 2017. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC1AEEE29680 — A US army soldier holds a gun as he stands guard next to an armored vehicle as Brett McGurk, US envoy to the coalition against the Islamic State, visits the town of Tabqa, Syria, June 29, 2017. — REUTERS/Rodi Said

عربي

US officials in charge of the fight against the Islamic State (IS) warned today that the American-led coalition’s hard-fought gains could yet be reversed as President Donald Trump considers pulling out 2,000 US troops from Syria.

“The hard part is in front of us,” US Central Command chief Gen. Joseph Votel said at a US Institute of Peace panel alongside top diplomatic and humanitarian officials. “Stabilizing these areas, consolidating our gains.”