Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Newsmax TV on Thursday that U.S. troops are "going to come out" of Syria and President Donald Trump remained committed to ensuring "stability throughout the Middle East."
"Our troops are coming out," Pompeo told Newsmax TV host John Bachman in an exclusive interview at the State Department in Washington, D.C. "They're going to come out."
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President Trump reportedly told the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria late last week the 2,000 troops stationed there could be withdrawn over several months versus the 30 days he initially announced.
Regardless, the Trump administration will continue its efforts to destroy the Islamic State and to counter terrorist activities by Iran, Pompeo said.
"The president also made very clear that we needed to continue the counter-ISIS campaign," he told Bachman. "We needed to continue to ensure that we did the things needed to create stability throughout the Middle East.
"The counter-Iran campaign continues.
"We'll do all those things," Pompeo said. "We'll continue to achieve those outcomes.
"We'll simply do it at a time when the American forces have departed Syria."
He declined to give a timeline on withdrawal.
"I don't want the adversaries to know precisely when it is we will be departing," Pompeo said.
"But the guidance there is unambiguous," he added, "and we'll get it done."
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