No US withdrawal from Syria until IS destroyed: John Bolton

Washington: White House National Security Adviser John Bolton has contradicted President Donald Trump’s decision to immediately withdraw troops from Syria, laying out conditions for a pullout that can leave US forces there for months or even years. Speaking during a visit to Israel on Sunday, Bolton said that American forces would remain in Syria until the last remnants of the Islamic State were defeated and Turkey provided guarantees that it would not strike Kurdish forces allied with the US.

He and other top White House advisers led a behind-the-scenes effort to slow the President’s order and reassure allies, including Israel, the New York Times reported. He also acknowledged that pockets of the Islamic State remained undefeated and that a quick US pullout could endanger US partners and allies in the region, as well as American forces themselves. Bolton said there was no timetable for the US withdrawal from Syria but that there was not an unlimited commitment. He also said Trump wanted to ensure that the Islamic State was “destroyed”. (IANS)

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