FROM EIR DAILY ALERT

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Secretary Pompeo Threatens No U.S. Aid for Syria Reconstruction if Iranian Presence Persists

Oct. 11, 2018 (EIRNS)— In a speech at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said if Syria does not remove Iranian troops and allied forces from the country, it will not receive reconstruction aid from the U.S. “The onus for expelling Iran from the country falls on the Syrian government, which bears responsibility for its presence there,” Pompeo said. “If Syria doesn’t ensure the total withdrawal of Iranian-backed troops, it will not receive one single dollar from the United States for reconstruction,” Pompeo said. (Does this mean that the U.S. will give Syria aid if they do expel the Iranians?)

Pompeo did not demand a withdrawal by Russia, which is in Syria at the invitation of the government. Damascus had not invited the U.S.