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Intel: Pentagon refuses to put timeline on Syria mission

Defense Secretary Mark Esper refused to put a timeline on the Pentagon’s scaled-down mission to defeat the Islamic State and guard Syrian oil fields at the agency’s last press briefing of the year.
U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper holds a press briefing at Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., December 20, 2019. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas - RC23ZD94I24B

Defense Secretary Mark Esper refused to put a timeline on the Pentagon’s scaled-down mission to defeat the Islamic State and guard Syrian oil fields at the agency’s last press briefing of the year.

Conditions-based: "That's a crystal ball that I don't have,” Esper responded when asked when 600 US troops in the war-torn country would leave. “I think we're there as long as we can ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS."

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