President Donald Trump's White House vowed Wednesday that the US mission in Syria would come to a "rapid end" but failed to put a timetable on an eventual withdrawal. Just days after Trump shocked aides and allies by declaring that the 2,000 troops would come home soon, US officials moved to scotch talk of a precipitous pullout.
The decision will reassure those in Washington pushing for a longer commitment to countering Russian and Iranian influence in a Syria still wracked by civil war. But the hawks' relief may not last; the White House statement made it clear that the mission will continue only as long as it takes to defeat the beleaguered Islamic State group.
And, with only a few thousand IS fighters thought to remain, the rationale for keeping US troops alongside Kurdish and Arab militia allies in the east of Syria may soon expire. "The military mission to eradicate ISIS in Syria is coming to a rapid end, with ISIS being almost completely destroyed," the White House said.
"The United States and our partners remain committed to eliminating the small ISIS presence in Syria that our forces have not already eradicated," it added.
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