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Pentagon eyes shrinking role in Syria as Trump and Putin negotiate deal

Syrian rebels have presented the White House with military options to push back against Bashar al-Assad’s gains in the southwest, Al-Monitor has learned.
U.S. soldiers drive a military vehicle on the road connecting al-Rai town to Azaz city, northern Aleppo countryside, Syria October 4, 2016. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - S1BEUFBZQFAE

The US military is bracing for a diminished role in Syria as President Donald Trump meets with Vladimir Putin on Monday, days after Bashar al-Assad’s forces raised their flag over the birthplace of the Syrian revolution.

In the lead-up to the leaders’ summit in Helsinki, the State Department’s Near East Affairs Bureau appears ready to give up on a cease-fire zone in southwest Syria that has already been significantly truncated by Assad’s recent victory in Daraa. National security adviser John Bolton, however, is pushing for a more aggressive US posture against Assad ally Iran.

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