The United States is going to “re-energize” a multi-lateral military campaign that it has been leading in Syria, says US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, contrasting his boss President Donald Trump’s pledge to pull out troops from Syria.
“We are not withdrawing,” Mattis said at a hearing session of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday.
“You’ll see a re-energized effort against the middle Euphrates River Valley in the days ahead and against the rest of the geographic caliphate,” the Pentagon chief told the panel, referring to Syrian territories that remain under terrorist control.
Since September 2014, the US and its allies have been pounding purported terrorist positions across Syria without coordination with Damascus or a mandate from the United Nations.
The airstrike has failed to yield any meaningful results and has on many occasions worked to the disadvantage of President Bashar al-Assad’s forces.
However, Syria has been…