US ‘optimistic’ France, Britain will join stay-behind Syria force
The United States is ‘very optimistic’ that France and Britain will participate in a residual force that US President Donald Trump wants to leave in Syria, his national security advisor said Sunday.
‘Certainly, in conversations this past week with my British and French counterparts, I’m very optimistic that they’re going to participate,’ John Bolton said in an interview with ABC’s This Week. ‘It hasn’t happened formally yet, but they’re looking at it,’ he said, adding that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Joe Dunford, is working to set up the force.
Bolton insisted there was no contradiction between Trump’s assertion that the caliphate declared by the Islamic State group has been eliminated 100%, and the assessment of the top US commander in the Middle East, who told Congress last week the fight is ‘far from over.’
‘The president has been, I think, as clear as clear can be when he talks about the defeat of the ISIS territorial caliphate,’ Bolton said. ‘He has never said that the elimination of the territorial caliphate means the end of ISIS in total. We know that’s not the case.’
‘But one reason that the president has committed to keeping an American presence in Iraq and a small part of an observer force in Syria is against the possibility that there would be a real resurgence of ISIS, and we would then have the ability to deal with that if that arose.’
Trump abruptly announced in December the immediate and complete withdrawal of the 2,000 US troops deployed in north-eastern Syria, declaring victory against IS, or ISIS as it is also known. Then, under pressure from Congress and the Pentagon, he agreed to leave a residual force of some 200 US troops, which he wants to be reinforced by allies in the anti-IS coalition.
An objective of the international force is to guarantee the security of its Syrian Kurd allies. Turkey, a NATO member, views the Kurdish combatants as terrorists, and the Europeans fear they would be vulnerable if Ankara launched an offensive.
You may also like
More from Defence Notes
-
![Intelligence innovation: From data overload to decision advantage (Podcast)]()
Intelligence innovation: From data overload to decision advantage (Podcast)
As militaries face an overwhelming flow of data, the challenge is shifting from collection to delivering fast, actionable insights that drive decision-making. Advances in AI and data integration are helping armed forces move beyond siloed systems to generate real-time intelligence across domains and allies.
-
![Teledyne FLIR adds GPS-denied 3D-mapping capabilities to its CBRN uncrewed platforms]()
Teledyne FLIR adds GPS-denied 3D-mapping capabilities to its CBRN uncrewed platforms
In a partnership with Emesent, Teledyne FLIR will equip its autonomous air, ground and detection systems with the Hovermap LiDAR payload in a move that highlights a broader market shift towards modular architectures, shared payloads and interoperability across platforms.
-
![US seeks 32% boost for missile defence budget with $23 billion earmarked for interceptors]()
US seeks 32% boost for missile defence budget with $23 billion earmarked for interceptors
The Pentagon’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year includes an impressive increase in the procurement of interceptors, with the number of the US Army’s PAC-3 MSE rounds expanding by 683%, the US Navy’s Standard Missile by 365% and the MDA’s SM-3 IIA by more than 1,000%.
-
![US Army partners with Global Military Products to surge munitions production]()
US Army partners with Global Military Products to surge munitions production
Global Military Products was selected by the US Army to operate the Quad Cities Cartridge Case Facility and ramp up the production of various calibre shell cases.
