Mark Esper

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FILE - In this Nov. 6, 2019, file photo, U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper talks to the media with Qatar Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Khalid Al Attiyah at the Pentagon in Washington. Barely four months into his tenure, Esper is making his second trek across the Pacific. And yet it is the Middle East – most recently a near-war with Iran and an actual war in Syria – that in Washington commands more attention and demands more American troops. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen) ** FILE **

Esper: US could alter military drills to boost NKorea talks

By ROBERT BURNS - Associated Press

FILE - In this Nov. 6, 2019, file photo, U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper talks to the media with Qatar Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Khalid Al Attiyah at the Pentagon in Washington. Barely four months into his tenure, Esper is making his second trek across the Pacific. And yet it is the Middle East – most recently a near-war with Iran and an actual war in Syria – that in Washington commands more attention and demands more American troops. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen) ** FILE **

Pentagon chief tries to keep Asia in focus with second trip

By ROBERT BURNS - Associated Press

Former National Security Council Director for European Affairs Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, center, leaves after reviewing his testimony from a closed-door interview on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2019, in the impeachment inquiry on President Donald Trump's efforts to press Ukraine to investigate his political rival, Joe Biden. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Pentagon chief says Vindman should not fear Army retaliation

Associated Press

U.S. Secretary for Defense Mark Esper speaks during a media conference after a meeting of NATO defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Friday, Oct. 25, 2019. NATO defense ministers on Friday discussed efforts to deter Russia in eastern Europe and the future of the mission training security forces in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) **FILE**

Senate Democrats press Pentagon over role in Ukraine aid delay

By Lauren Toms - The Washington Times

Defense Secretary Mark Esper talks to reporters at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019, where he saw a Patriot missile battery that the U.S. sent to Saudi to help protect the kingdom against the Iranian threat. (AP Photo/Lolita Baldor)

The Latest: US troops from Syria to leave Iraq in 4 weeks

Associated Press

In this frame grab from video provided by Hawar News, ANHA, the Kurdish news agency, residents who are angry over the U.S. withdrawal from Syria hurl potatoes at American military vehicles in the town of Qamishli, northern Syria, Monday, Oct. 21, 2019. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Monday in Afghanistan that U.S. troops will stay in eastern Turkey to protect Kurdish-held oil fields for at least the coming weeks and that he was discussing options to keep them there. (ANHA via AP)

‘America is running away’: Syrian withdrawal turns chaotic

By SARAH EL DEEB and LEE KEATH - Associated Press

In this Friday, Oct. 4, 2019 file photo, Defense Secretary Mark Esper speaks to a gathering of soldiers at the University Club at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Ky. Esper says during a weekend trip to the Middle East that under the current plan all U.S. troops leaving Syria will go to western Iraq, and that the military will continue to conduct operations against the Islamic State group to prevent a resurgence in that country. As Esper left Washington on Saturday, Oct. 19, U.S. troops were continuing to pull out of northern Syria after Turkey's invasion into the border region. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley, File)

Son of Pentagon chief works at company that bid for contract

Associated Press

Defense Secretary Mark Esper talks to reporters at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019, where he saw a Patriot missile battery that the US sent to Saudi to help protect the kingdom against the Iranian threat. (AP Photo/Lolita Baldor)

Mark Esper, Pentagon chief, recuses himself from $10 billion JEDI contract process

By Ben Wolfgang - The Washington Times

Defense Secretary Mark Esper talks to reporters at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019, where he saw a Patriot missile battery that the US sent to Saudi to help protect the kingdom against the Iranian threat. (AP Photo/Lolita Baldor)

US to ask NATO to pay more to protect Saudi Arabia from Iran

By LOLITA C. BALDOR - Associated Press

A U.S. military convoy arrives near Dahuk, Iraqi, Monday, Oct. 21, 2019. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Monday that under the current plan all U.S. troops leaving Syria will go to western Iraq and the military will continue to conduct operations against the Islamic State group to prevent its resurgence. (AP Photo)

Iraq: American troops leaving Syria cannot stay in Iraq

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and ZEINA KARAM - Associated Press

In this frame grab from video provided by Hawar News, ANHA, the Kurdish news agency, residents who are angry over the U.S. withdrawal from Syria hurl potatoes at American military vehicles in the town of Qamishli, northern Syria, Monday, Oct. 21, 2019. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Monday in Afghanistan that U.S. troops will stay in eastern Turkey to protect Kurdish-held oil fields for at least the coming weeks and that he was discussing options to keep them there. (ANHA via AP)

Syrians throw potatoes at withdrawing American troops

By Ben Wolfgang - The Washington Times

In this Friday, Oct. 4, 2019 file photo, Defense Secretary Mark Esper speaks to a gathering of soldiers at the University Club at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Ky. Esper says during a weekend trip to the Middle East that under the current plan all U.S. troops leaving Syria will go to western Iraq, and that the military will continue to conduct operations against the Islamic State group to prevent a resurgence in that country. As Esper left Washington on Saturday, Oct. 19, U.S. troops were continuing to pull out of northern Syria after Turkey's invasion into the border region. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley, File)

US may now keep some troops in Syria to guard oilfields

By LOLITA C. BALDOR - Associated Press

CORRECTING LOCATION TO ISTANBUL - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses his supporters during an event called &quot; Let's stop smoking, let's drink Rize tea &quot; in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019. Turkey's defense ministry says Sunday it is closely monitoring the withdrawal of Syrian Kurdish forces as required by a U.S.-brokered cease-fire. (Presidential Press Service via AP, Pool )

‘America is running away’: Syrian withdrawal turns chaotic

By SARAH EL DEEB and LEE KEATH - Associated Press

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, center, is greeted by U.S. military personnel upon arriving in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019. Esper arrived Sunday in Afghanistan, where stalled peace talks with the Taliban and persistent violent attacks by the insurgent group and Islamic State militants have complicated the Trump administration’s pledge to withdraw more than 5,000 American troops. He told reporters traveling with him that he believes the U.S. can reduce its force in Afghanistan without hurting the counterterrorism fight against al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. (AP Photo/Lolita C. Balbor)

US defense chief in Afghanistan for firsthand look at war

By LOLITA C. BALDOR - Associated Press

FILE - In this Sept. 6, 2019 file photo, U.S. soldiers survey the the safe zone between Syria and the Turkish border near Tal Abyad, Syria, on a joint patrol with the Tax Abyad Military Council, affiliated with the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces. Defense Secretary Mark Esper says that under the current plan all U.S. troops leaving Syria will go to western Iraq, and that the military will continue to conduct operations against the Islamic State group to prevent a resurgence in that country. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File)

US may now keep some troops in Syria to guard oil fields

By LOLITA C. BALDOR - Associated Press

In this Friday, Oct. 18, 2019 photo, Turkish-backed Syrian opposition fighters ride atop their armored personnel carrier to cross the border into Syria, in Akcakale, Sanliurfa province, southeastern Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants Syrian government forces to move out of areas near the Turkish border so it can resettle up to 2 million refugees there, his spokesman told The Associated Press on Saturday, adding that Erdogan will raise the issue in talks next week with Syria's ally, Russian President Vladimir Putin. (AP Photo/Mehmet Guzel)

Defense chief: US troops leaving Syria to go to western Iraq

By LOLITA C. BALDOR - Associated Press

Syrian Kurdish fighters of Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army enter Turkey from Syria to join fighting alongside Turkish forces against US-backed Kurds, in Syria, Friday, Oct. 11, 2019. Turkish forces pushed deeper into northeastern Syria on Friday, the third day of Ankara's cross-border offensive against Syrian Kurdish fighters that has set off another mass displacement of civilians and met with widespread criticism from the international community.(Ugur Can/DHA via AP)

After troops withdraw, U.S. will continue to monitor conflict between Turks and Kurds

By Mike Glenn - The Washington Times

President Donald Trump, joined by from left, Defense Secretary Mark Esper, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, speaks to media during a briefing with senior military leaders in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington, Monday, Oct. 7, 2019. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Mark Esper: Donald Trump authorizes ‘deliberate withdrawal’ of all U.S. forces from northern Syria

By Ben Wolfgang - The Washington Times

In this Aug. 28, 2019, file photo, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper speaks to reporters during a briefing at the Pentagon. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File) **FILE**

US pulling out of northern Syria; full withdrawal possible

By ROBERT BURNS - Associated Press

President Donald Trump, joined by from left, Defense Secretary Mark Esper, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, speaks to media during a briefing with senior military leaders in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington, Monday, Oct. 7, 2019. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) **FILE**

Esper: US is not abandoning Kurds in face of Turkish attack

By ROBERT BURNS and LOLITA C. BALDOR - Associated Press