US President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday that the presence of American troops in Syria is meant to help keep peace in the Middle East in response to a question on why soldiers have been deployed in the country.
“We are trying to make sure that there is going to be – and remains – peace in the Middle East, and Syria is a big part of it,” he said, speaking at a press briefing in the White House.
His comments came just days after two American troops and a civilian interpreter were killed in central Syria on Saturday after an alleged ISIS member opened fire on a joint US-Syrian patrol.
Following the incident, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the attack took place in Palmyra, home to UNESCO-listed ancient ruins and once controlled by the ISIS group during the height of its territorial expansion in Syria.
The attack is the first of its kind reported since armed opposition forces overthrew longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in December last year and rekindled the country’s ties with the United States under President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
“The new leader (al-Sharaa) is a strong person and that is what you need. This is a tough part of the world, and it has been amazing what has taken place in Syria,” Trump said.
“We got rid of Assad and other people that were bad people and that were in the way of peace in the Middle East,” the president added.
He said that for “the first time in 3,000 years” the Middle East is experiencing peace.
“We have legitimate peace in the Middle East. The first time in 3,000 years…We’ll see what happens with Hamas. We’ll see what happens with Hezbollah, but regardless, we have countries that want to go in and clean that out if we want them to do it,” Trump added.
Comments About This Article
Please fill the fields below.