Over 500 troops will remain in Syria despite U.S. plans for a troop withdrawal, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley said.

In his first televised interview since assuming the chairman's position in September, Millet told ABC News' "This Week" on Sunday that the U.S. footprint in Syria will be reduced but the military objective of defeating the Islamic State remains the same.

When asked about troop strength, Milley responded, "There'll be less than 1,000 for sure, and probably in the 500-ish frame, maybe six. But it's that area. But we're not going to go into specific numbers because we're still going through the analysis right now."

In October, President Donald Trump announced plans to withdraw nearly all American troops from the Kurdish-controlled region in Syria. The announcement drew bipartisan anger in Congress, and two days later, after the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was announced, Trump said U.S. military forces "may have to fight for the oil."

Milley added that al-Baghdadi's death "will have a very significant disruptive effect on the organization as a whole," and that a U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan will be required for several years to prevent it from becoming a base for terrorists. He also said that the buildup of U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf, to counter threats from Iran, will remain in place until a diplomatic settlement is negotiated.

Milley's answers to questions appeared to signal that U.S. troops will remain in the region, despite Trump's regular pledge to remove the United States from ongoing Middle East conflicts.

Related Links
All About Oil and Gas News at OilGasDaily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Greek tanker firm readies files for Brazilian oil probe
Athens (AFP) Nov 7, 2019
The Greek-flagged tanker Bouboulina, suspected of spilling oil along Brazil's northeastern coast, is ready to hand over the documents requested by Brazilian authorities, a public relations group said Thursday. The group hired by Bouboulina's owners, Delta Tankers, said Brazilian officials had written to the Greek merchant marine regulator requesting that four shipping companies provide navigation documents as Rio tries to identify the source of spills that began appearing along Brazil's Atlantic coa ... read more