John Bolton, President Trump’s national security adviser, was just in Israel to discuss the withdrawal of US Special Forces from Syria.
At the same time, events in Iraq indicated that the presence of American soldiers in the country cannot be taken for granted anymore.
While in Israel, Bolton made statements indicating the Trump Administration was backtracking on its decision to withdraw US Special Forces from Syria.
The former US ambassador to the United Nations first warned the regime of Bashar al-Assad not to use chemical weapons again during or after the pull out of the US military from Syria.
“There is absolutely no change in the U.S. position against the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime and absolutely no change in our position that any use of chemical weapons would be met by a very strong response, as we’ve done twice before,” Bolton told reporters shortly before his plane landed at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel.
He later said that the withdrawal of American troops was dependent on finishing off the last remnants of ISIS in the war-torn country and on Turkey’s promise not to go after the Kurds once the U.S. withdraws from Syria.
Both Trump and Bolton affirmed on Sunday there was no specific timeline for the exit of the US military from Syria while the American national security adviser warned Iran against contemplating new aggressive acts against Israel.
Bolton said Iran should “think again” about its belligerent activities against the Jewish state and he later indicated the U.S. could maintain a military presence on the Syrian border with Iraq where the Americans have a base near the Al-Tanf border crossing.
His remarks contradicted Trump’s earlier statement that Iran could do whatever it wanted in Syria because the country was only sand and death.
“They can do what they want there, frankly,” the President said during a special cabinet meeting shortly after New Year. READ MORE
