Pompeo heads to Mideast to stress 'US not going anywhere'
Despite President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from Syria, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will stress US commitment to the region and an anti-Iran theme on trip to Jordan, Egypt and Gulf states.
WASHINGTON — Despite President Donald Trump’s decision to pull US forces from Syria, the United States is not leaving the region, and Iran is the top regional menace, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will stress when he travels to Jordan, Egypt and all six of the Gulf Cooperation Council states next week, State Department officials said today.
“The United States is not leaving the Middle East,” a senior State Department official, speaking not for attribution, told journalists on a State Department conference call today. “ p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Calibri; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000} span.s1 {font-kerning: none} Despite reports to the contrary and false narratives surrounding the Syria decision, we are not going anywhere.”
“Iran is the dangerous actor in the region,” the official continued, adding that the United States will continue to work to galvanize international partners to pressure it.
Pompeo will emphasize those points in a speech in Cairo, the second stop on a trip from Jan. 8 to 15 that will take him first to Amman, Jordan, then Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait. The State Department would not confirm a previous White House announcement that Pompeo may also visit Iraq, presumably for security concerns.
