The threat from radical Islamic terrorism remains real, but President Donald Trump's call to bring troops home from Syria is the right thing to do, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday.
"America is fundamentally safer today than it was two years ago when this administration took office," Pompeo told Fox Business' "Mornings With Maria" anchor Maria Bartiromo. "You remember people being beheaded and people put in cages with ISIS. We've made real progress there."
The call to remove troops, though, is a "tactical" decision, said Pompeo.
"As the president said last night, we'll put forces when we need to, but when we can bring the young men and women home, it's the right thing to do. We'll do that as well."
However, he said he is not sure there is a timeline, and Trump has been clear that pressure must be kept up in Syria.
"We have to defend the homeland from these threats, from radical Islamic terrorism," said Pompeo. "It's not just ISIS. There are al-Qaida remnants. There are groups by names that the American people wouldn't recognize all over the world who are intent on the destruction of the United States and taking down our democracy."
He further said he does not think that if the United States pulls out, ISIS will be able to sell oil and fund terrorist operations.
"Remember the challenge in Syria," he said. "We took over from an administration who refused to act inside of that country to keep America safe ... I'm confident we'll make sure ISIS doesn't have access to those oil fields."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.