Can the US force Iran out of Syria? Not likely, former officials say
The outgoing Trump administration appears to have made little if any progress in achieving its goal.
WASHINGTON – Earlier this month, the Trump administration's top envoy for Syria told House lawmakers that the White House's policy goals for the outcome of that country's civil war remain “within reach.”
“Our leverage in Syria is increasing,” Joel Rayburn told the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Dec. 10.
Those goals, Rayburn said, remain the “enduring defeat” of the Islamic State group, a political resolution to Syria’s civil war and the withdrawal of Iranian-led forces from the country.
But veteran national security officials who worked on the Trump administration's current Syria policy are beginning to publicly admit signs of doubt, particularly about Iran’s military presence in the war-torn country.
