WASHINGTON: US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Friday that he expected to see a larger US civilian presence in Syria, including contractors and diplomats, as the fight against Islamic State militants nears its end and the focus turns toward rebuilding and ensuring the militants do not return. The United States has about 2,000 troops in Syria fighting Islamic State. Mattis´ comments are likely to anger Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who has previously called US troops ?illegal invader? forces. ?What we will be doing is shifting from what I would call an offensive, shifting from an offensive terrain-seizing approach to a stabilizing . . . you´ll see more US diplomats on the ground,? Mattis told reporters. He has previously stated that US forces will stay in Syria as long as Islamic State fighters want to fight and prevent the return of an ?ISIS 2.0,? using an acronym for Islamic State. His comments marked the first time Mattis has indicated there would be an increase of civilians in parts of the country retaken from Islamic State militants. ?Well, when you bring in more diplomats, they are working that initial restoration of services, they bring in the contractors, that sort of thing,? he said. ?There is international money that has got to be administered, so it actually does something, it doesn´t go into the wrong people´s pockets,? he added. The contractors and diplomats would also face the task of training local forces to clear improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and helping ensure that Islamic State does not retake territory. ?It is an attempt to move towards the normalcy and that takes a lot of support,? said Mattis. ?Reuters
12-31-2017, 07:13 AM
Mattis sees larger US civilian presence in Syria
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