Hundreds of US lawmakers ask Trump administration for Syria strategy
Hundreds of members of the US Congress signed a letter to
President Donald Trump on Monday arguing that the United States should remain
engaged with the conflict in Syria, saying they were “deeply concerned” about
extremist groups in the country.
“As some of our closest allies in the region are being
threatened, American leadership and support are as crucial as ever,” said the
letter, signed by nearly 400 of the 535 members of the House of Representatives
and Senate.
Many US lawmakers, Trump’s fellow Republicans as well as
Democrats, have been deeply concerned about Syria policy since December, when
Trump confounded his own national security team and allies with a surprise
decision to withdraw all 2,000 US troops from Syria.
Trump backtracked in February, agreeing to leave a small US
presence to help keep pressure on ISIS during what the US military believes
will be a critical stabilization phase in Syria.
The lead signers of the letter were the Democratic chairman
and ranking Republican of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs
Committee, Representatives Eliot Engel and Mike McCaul, and the Republican
chairman and ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,
Senators Jim Risch and Bob Menendez.
Among other things, the letter urges Trump to increase
pressure on Iran and Russia with respect to their activities in Syria and
increase pressure on the heavily armed Shiite Hezbollah movement, Iran’s
Lebanese ally.