US Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made an unannounced visit to Syria and said on Saturday (March 4) that US deployment to Syria is still worth the risk. Milley visited a base to meet US troops in the country’s northeast. He assessed efforts to prevent a resurgence of the militant group and review safeguards for American forces against attacks, including from drones.
US is fighting Islamic State in Syria and is also opposed to Syrian government led by President Bashar al-Assad.
While Islamic State is a shadow of the group that ruled over a third of Syria and Iraq in a Caliphate declared in 2014, hundreds of fighters are still camped in desolate areas where neither the U.S.-led coalition nor the Syrian army, with support from Russia and Iranian-backed militias, exert full control.
Thousands of other Islamic State fighters are in detention facilities guarded by Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, America’s key ally in the country.
American officials say that Islamic State could still regenerate into a major threat.
Asked by reporters traveling with him if he believed the Syria mission was worth the risk, Milley tied the mission to the security of the United States and its allies, saying: “If you think that that’s important, then the answer is ‘Yes.'”
“I happen to think that’s important,” Milley said.
“So I think that an enduring defeat of ISIS and continuing to support our friends and allies in the region … I think those are important tasks that can be done.”
(With inputs from agencies)
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