FROM EIR DAILY ALERT
Trump Indicates Again That He Wants U.S. Troops Out of Syria
Sept. 19, 2018 (EIRNS)—During his joint press conference in Washington with Polish President Andrzej Duda, President Trump indicated that he still desires to get U.S. troops out of Syria, despite the statements of certain State Department officials who say that U.S. troops are there to stay.
“We have done a tremendous job in Syria and in that region eradicating ISIS, which is why we’re there. And we’re very close to being finished with that job, and then we’re going to make a determination as to what we’re going to do,”
he said when asked about the latest developments there. Referring to Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, he said, “they’ve done an incredible job over there, but we’ll make a decision fairly quickly.”
Trump also addressed the downing of the Russian intelligence aircraft on Monday night. “It sounds to me and it seems to me, just like based on a review of the facts, that Syria shot down a Russian plane,” he said. “And I understand about 14 people were killed, at least. And that’s a very sad thing. But that’s what happens.”
Secretary Pompeo also issued a statement expressing sorrow for the Russian deaths and stated that the incident only underscores the necessity of a solution to the conflict.
“Yesterday’s unfortunate incident reminds us of the need to find permanent, peaceful, and political resolutions to the many overlapping conflicts in the region and the danger of tragic miscalculation in Syria’s crowded theater of operations,”
he said.
“It underlines the urgent need to resolve the Syrian conflict in accordance with UNSC Resolution 2254 and to end Iran’s provocative transit of dangerous weapon systems through Syria, which are a threat to the region.”
