Trump to make 'significant announcement' next week on ISIS, withdrawal
"Well, the President will make a significant announcement, I think, in the State of the Union next week with respect to the status of the caliphate, the real estate, the grounds from which ISIS had been operating in Syria when this administration came in," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during an interview with Fox News this week.
The annual State of the Union Address is set for Tuesday. Pompeo has already announced a ministerial-level meeting of the 79 members of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in Washington on Wednesday.
Pompeo hinted that Trump may be reconsidering or adjusting the timeline of his plan to withdraw all US forces.
"We also know that in spite of the enormous progress we’ve made and the success that we’ve had, that the threat from radical Islamic terrorism is real and we need to continue to do all that we can to make sure that there’s not a resurgence of ISIS or that all the other variants of that terror regime continue to be under pressure," he said.
Analysts and advisors have cautioned the president against setting a timetable for a withdrawal, noting it would put at risk the lives of coalition members in Syria and their partnered ground forces the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Senate leadership introduced on Thursday by a 68-23 margin for the 'Use of Force to Defend the Kurds in Syria Resolution' as part of the ‘Strengthening America’s Security in the Middle East Act.’
"ISIS and al-Qaida have yet to be defeated. And American national security interests require continued commitment to our missions," Republican Senator McConnell said on the Senate floor.
Independent Senator Bernie Sanders expressed the withdrawals are too abrupt, but agreed that the United States has been in Afghanistan and Syria for too long.
“What McConnell is saying is let’s maintain the status quo,” he said.
The Senate is expected to take the issue up again early next week — likely before the State of the Union Address.
The United States acknowledges that it has around 2,000 forces in Syria. Although the number is likely higher as Washington uses various means to obscure the number including Special Forces deployments, troop rotations, and the use of department of defense and state civilian and military contractors.
