WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on developments in the aftermath of the U.S. airstrikes in Syria (all times EDT):
10:45 a.m.
President Donald Trump’s national security adviser is describing U.S. goals to defeat the Islamic State group as well as oust Syrian President Bashar Assad (bah-SHAR’ AH’-sahd) as somewhat “simultaneous.”
H.R. McMaster says there is no contradiction between comments by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who says IS must be defeated first, and Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who contends that getting Assad out is a priority.
McMaster says “there has to be a degree of simultaneous activity as well as sequencing of the defeat of IS first.”
He says Trump’s missile strike was meant as a “very strong signal to Assad and his sponsors” that the U.S. will not stand idly by, and that Russia should now reconsider support for the “murderous regime.”
McMaster spoke on “Fox News Sunday.”
___
10:30 a.m.
Sen. Lindsay Graham is calling for as many as 6,000 more U.S. troops to fight the Islamic State group.
The South Carolina Republican also wants additional penalties imposed on Russia for what he calls Moscow’s “aiding and abetting” of Syrian President Bashar Assad (bah-SHAR’ AH’-sahd) in the use of chemical weapons - and for Russian meddling in the 2016 American election.
Graham tells NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the additional troops would “attract more regional fighters to destroy” the militants. Graham isn’t saying where the Americans would be sent.
The Syrian opposition has reported that Assad’s forces have begun flying again from an air base struck last week by U.S. missiles, and Graham says Assad is telling Trump - “F … you’ - by resuming those flights.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.