Allies have “unanimously” told the United States that they “won’t stay if you pull out,” a senior administration official said. France and Britain are the only other countries with troops on the ground in the U.S.-led coalition battling the Islamic State. On Tuesday, British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said that “there is no prospect of British forces replacing the Americans” in Syria. Graham, who leads a group of lawmakers opposed to the pullout plan, has proposed leaving 200 U.S. troops in northeast Syria as a way to incentivize European allies. Bolton has told allies that even if they withdraw from northern and eastern Syria, U.S. troops will remain at the American garrison at Tanf, on Syria’s southern border with Jordan.

Source: Washington Post February 21, 2019 00:27 UTC