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Pompeo names high-level Syria team as Trump looks for the exit

The Donald Trump administration has named former US Ambassador to Iraq and Turkey James Jeffrey to coordinate all aspects of US Syria policy.
U.S. ambassador to Iraq James Jeffrey (L) speaks during a ceremony for the U.S. military to retire its ceremonial flags, signifying the end of military presence in Iraq, at the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center in Baghdad December 15, 2011. The U.S military officially ended its war in Iraq on Thursday, rolling up its flag at a low-key ceremony with Panetta nearly nine years after the invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein. This ceremony is called the "casing of the colors" and signifies the departing and inact

WASHINGTON — Nineteen months into the Donald Trump administration, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has named a high-level diplomatic team to work on Syria. In the final stages of the military campaign to combat the Islamic State’s (IS) physical presence in Syria, Trump has expressed continued misgivings about funding any post-war stabilization.

“The United States has ended the ridiculous 230 Million Dollar yearly development payment to Syria,” Trump tweeted Aug. 18. “Saudi Arabia and other rich countries in the Middle East will start making payments instead of the U.S. I want to develop the U.S., our military and countries that help us!”

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