Fleitz to Newsmax: US Must Weigh Syria Mission After Troop Deaths

A deadly attack on U.S. troops in Syria is renewing questions about the American mission there and whether the remaining ISIS threat requires a continued U.S. presence, former National Security Council chief of staff Fred Fleitz said on Newsmax Saturday.

"It looks like this was an ambush against U.S. soldiers in the region," Fleitz told "Saturday Agenda." "It shows that there's still a significant threat from ISIS. It has not been wiped out. It still has a presence in Syria."

Earlier Saturday, two U.S. service members and one American civilian were killed and three other people were wounded in an ambush by a lone member of the Islamic State group in central Syria, according to the U.S. military's Central Command.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attacker was a member of the Syrian security force, but Syria's Interior Ministry spokesman Nour al-Din al-Baba denied reports that suggested that the attacker was a security member.

Fleitz told Newsmax that U.S. forces in the broader area have been working with partners while confronting the lingering ISIS presence.

"There's less than a thousand American soldiers in northern Iraq right now," he said. "They've been partnering with the Iraqi Kurds."

He added that U.S. troops have been working with the Syrian government against a lingering presence by ISIS, and that the United States may have to intensify coordination with allies to prevent ISIS from regrouping.

"I think we're going to have to talk with our allies about what this means and how we might need to double down, wipe ISIS out from this region," he said.

Blaine Holt, a retired U.S. Air Force brigadier general, said the U.S. presence sits inside a broader regional strategy and warned that additional instability in Syria could undermine U.S. objectives.

"The [reason] why we're there is we're at a critical juncture in the Middle East, where President [Donald] Trump's strategic initiative is to bring peace to the region, with the anchor point being in Gaza on the 21-point peace plan," Holt said.

"If Syria falls into any more chaos than it's already in, created largely by President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan of Turkey, then the likelihood that those goals can be achieved is not," he added.

Holt also raised concerns about infiltration and the ability of local forces to secure U.S. personnel.

"Al-Qaida's government has long been thought to be infiltrated by many ISIS people, and they can't guarantee the safety of our forces," he said.

Holt pointed to public denials issued after the attack and said Washington should reassess the operation.

"Immediately after this hit happened, the spokesman came out from the Syrian government saying, no, no, no, no. This was separate and apart. They weren't part of the security detail," Holt said.

"We're going to have to now review the mission and find a better way ahead, because honestly, at the strategic value of 1,000 of our best, sitting in Syria still needs to be under scrutiny and review, in my opinion," he added.

Fleitz said the White House faces a consequential decision about whether the mission remains worth the risk and what a withdrawal could mean for ISIS's ability to rebound.

"The decision has to be made. Is this anti-terrorism mission worth it?" he said.

He cautioned that ungoverned spaces can quickly become a breeding ground for extremists. "We know ISIS thrives in ungoverned spaces," said Fleitz. "This Syrian government is very weak. If we pulled out, would that give ISIS an opportunity to rebuild in Syria?"

He said the next steps will require a sober policy debate over the costs of staying, the dangers of leaving, and the risk of allowing ISIS to reconstitute.

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