US President Donald Trump signaled during a meeting with a group of Republican senators on Wednesday, his readiness to adhere to his plan to withdraw US troops from Syria and Afghanistan, according to Senator Rand Paul.
“Not only is he following through with his Syria policy, I really do think there will be changes in Afghanistan as well. If you look at the polling data for the American people, I think the American people are with the president and they’re tired, frankly, of both parties, who are unwilling to stand up and say enough is enough”, Paul said.
He declined to elaborate on what Trump said about exact timelines for US forces’ pullout from Syria and Afghanistan.
“We talked extensively about Syria. He talked about how we will continue to make sure that ISIS (ISIL) is not a problem but at the same time, we will not just go into theater and stay forever. I think he was steadfast in that”, Paul underscored.
His comments came hours after an Operation Inherent Resolve spokesperson tweeted that several US service members had been among the 16 people killed in a bombing in the northern Syrian town of Manbij. ISIL reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack.
The spokesperson added that the US servicemen were killed during an explosion while conducting a routine patrol in Manbij.
The announcement came as US Vice President Mike Pence claimed that ISIL has been defeated and its Caliphate has crumbled, adding that Washington is “now able to hand off the fight against ISIS to our coalition partners”.
Source: Sputnik
