But Pentagon officials said there was little appetite in the Defense Department for a full-fledged American military mission in Syria that would include thousands of additional combat troops. Any such move could leave the United States responsible for picking up the pieces after a defeat of the Islamic State. Like Mr. Mattis, General McMaster has no previous links to Mr. Trump and is not seen as being driven by ideology, which could not be said about Mr. Flynn. A battle-tested veteran of the Persian Gulf war of 1991 and the Iraq war, General McMaster, like Mr. Mattis, is considered to be one of the military’s most independent-minded officers. He went to Europe, where he reassured nations that, contrary to Mr. Trump’s postcampaign musings that NATO was “obsolete,” the United States still valued the trans-Atlantic alliance.

Source: New York Times February 26, 2017 19:52 UTC