Syria

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Defense Secretary Jim Mattis speaks during the 2018 POW/MIA National Recognition Day Ceremony at the Pentagon in Washington. President Donald Trump says Mattis will be retiring at the end of February 2019 and that a new secretary will be named shortly. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, file)

Mattis resignation letter lays out challenges for successor

By LOLITA C. BALDOR and ROBERT BURNS - Associated Press

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., left, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, confer prior to a news conference to say they are disagreeing with President Donald Trump's sudden decision to pull all 2,000 U.S. troops out of Syria, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Syria exit has Pentagon scrambling amid withdrawal outrage

By ROBERT BURNS and LOLITA BALDOR - Associated Press

FILE - This image made from video posted on a militant website July 5, 2014, purports to show the leader of the Islamic State group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, delivering a sermon at a mosque in Iraq during his first public appearance. President Donald Trump declared victory over the Islamic State group in Syria in a tweet Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018, but the militants remain a deadly force, and U.S. partners warn a premature U.S. withdrawal will allow them to storm back. The jihadists still hold territory in Syria and top leaders, including the group’s self-styled caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, remain at large. (Militant video via AP, File)

AP FACT CHECK: Trump prematurely declares victory over IS

By PHILIP ISSA - Associated Press

In this Monday, July 16, 2018, photo, U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, shake hand at the beginning of a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland. Throughout 2018, special cnvestigator Robert Mueller’s team investigated whether Trump's campaign colluded with Russia ahead of the 2016 election and whether the president obstructed the investigation. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais/File)

Putin welcomes US pullout from Syria

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV - Associated Press

California CEO imprisoned for smuggling gun parts to Syria

Associated Press

In this Dec. 11, 2018 photo, President Donald Trump speaks during a meets with Democratic leaders the Oval Office in Washington. Against the advice of many in his own administration, Trump is pulling U.S. troops out of Syria. But the abruptness with which Trump is turning the page on Syria is raising questions about whether he might not do the same in Iraq or Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Pentagon scrambles on Syria exit amid withdrawal outrage

By ROBERT BURNS and LOLITA BALDOR - Associated Press

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis speaks during the 2018 POW/MIA National Recognition Day Ceremony at the Pentagon in Washington. President Donald Trump says Mattis will be retiring at the end of February 2019 and that a new secretary will be named shortly. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, file)

James Mattis resigning as Trump’s defense secretary, citing differences

By Ben Wolfgang and Carlo Muñoz - The Washington Times

Sen. Rand Paul speaks during his meeting with Russian lawmakers in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Aug. 6, 2018. Paul said he invited Russian lawmakers to visit the United States to help foster inter-parliamentary contacts. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin) ** FILE **

Rand Paul praises Trump’s willingness to exit Syria: ‘It’s one of the reasons he won the election’

By Douglas Ernst - The Washington Times

Lawyers and judges wait for the start of a pre-trial hearing in the case of Mehdi Nemmouche, at the Justice Palace in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018. Nemmouche accused of shooting dead four people at a Jewish museum in Belgium in 2014 appeared in court Thursday, as preparations begun for his trial, which is due to start next month. ( AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert, Pool)

Brussels Jewish museum shooting suspect appears in court

By LORNE COOK - Associated Press

FILE - In this file photo dated Wednesday, March 28, 2018, a member of the Kurdish internal security forces holds his weapon during a patrol in Manbij, north Syria. U.S. President Donald Trump's decision Wednesday Dec. 19, 2018, to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria has rattled Washington's Kurdish allies, who are its most reliable partner in Syria and among the most effective ground forces battling the Islamic State group. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, FILE)

The Latest: Russian envoy welcomes US troop pullout

Associated Press

In this Nov. 1, 2018, photo released by the U.S. Army, soldiers surveil the area during a combined joint patrol in Manbij, Syria. The United States’ main ally in Syria on Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018, rejected President Donald Trump’s claim that Islamic State militants have been defeated and warned that the withdrawal of American troops would lead to a resurgence of the extremist group. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Zoe Garbarino via AP)

Donald Trump doubles down on decision to pull out of Syria: ‘Do we want to be there forever?’

By Gabriella Muñoz - The Washington Times

FILE - In this April 4, 2018 file photo, a U.S-backed Syrian Manbij Military Council soldier passes a U.S. position near the tense front line with Turkish-backed fighters, in Manbij, north Syria. U.S. President Donald Trump's decision Wednesday Dec. 19, 2018, to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria has rattled Washington's Kurdish allies, who are its most reliable partner in Syria and among the most effective ground forces battling the Islamic State group. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

Trump move to pull US troops from Syria opens way to turmoil

By ZEINA KARAM and SARAH EL DEEB - Associated Press

Kosovo man charged with joining terror groups

Associated Press

Illustration on withdrawing from Syria by Linas Garsys/the Washington Times

Withdrawing U.S. forces from Syria

By Rebeccah Heinrichs

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis welcomes Vice President Mike Pence to the Pentagon, Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Trump pulling all US troops from Syria, declaring IS defeat

By LOLITA C. BALDOR and ROBERT BURNS and MATTHEW LEE - Associated Press

The Damascus sky lights up missile fire as the U.S. launches an attack on Syria targeting different parts of the capital early Saturday, April 14, 2018. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Donald Trump signals full U.S. troop withdrawal from Syria: ‘We have defeated ISIS’

By Ben Wolfgang - The Washington Times

President Trump's announcement Wednesday about the U.S. pulling out of Syria came just days after Turkey said it was poised to carry out an offensive against Kurdish groups inside Syria, though the U.S. relied on the groups for years to battle the Islamic State. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

U.S. withdrawal from Syria may leave Kurdish allies in a lurch

By Guy Taylor - The Washington Times

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis welcomes Vice President Mike Pence to the Pentagon, Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

The Latest: Trump declares win over Islamic State in Syria

Associated Press

A look at US involvement in Syria’s civil war

Associated Press

The Damascus sky lights up missile fire as the U.S. launches an attack on Syria targeting different parts of the capital early Saturday, April 14, 2018. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

In 2019, Mideast economic troubles loom as wars wind down

By KARIN LAUB - Associated Press