Goldenberg points to what he calls Washington’s “yo-yo” policy in the Middle East: withdrawing troops until a disaster happens and then sending them back in. President Obama, for example, pulled most U.S. forces out of Iraq, which in turn eventually gave rise to Islamic State — which required renewed U.S. presence. There are pockets in Syria that Russia and Iran don’t have control over, Goldenberg noted, that will revert to fertile territory for extremist groups like Islamic State.

Source: Los Angeles Times December 19, 2018 23:15 UTC