National security adviser John Bolton said "there is absolutely no change" in President Donald Trump's administration's opposition to the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime of President Bashar Assad.
"A lot of options" would be available in the event of another incident, Bolton told reporters as he flew to the Middle East for meetings in Turkey and Israel. If the U.S. had to react again, the next response would be "more telling" than the last, he said.
Trump has twice carried out airstrikes in Syria in response to apparent chemical attacks, with the intention of deterring Assad.
"We've tried twice through the use of military force to demonstrate to the Assad regime the use of chemical weapons is not acceptable," Bolton said. "And if they don't heed the lessons of those two strikes, the next one will be more telling."
Asked if his comment on weapons is based on new intelligence about Assad's plans, Bolton indicated that it was not but that he had been speaking with allies and wanted to be clear about the U.S. posture to avoid the perception that the American position had changed.
Bolton planned to meet with Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and other officials today before traveling to Turkey. Israeli officials have expressed alarm that a swift withdrawal of the roughly 2,000 troops could enable Iran to expand its influence and presence in Syria, wracked by a yearslong civil war and the Islamic State militancy.
Trump's move has raised fears about clearing the way for a Turkish assault on Kurdish fighters in Syria who have fought alongside American troops against Islamic State extremists. Turkey considers the Kurdish People's Protection Units a terrorist group linked to an insurgency within its own borders.
A Trump administration official told reporters traveling with Bolton that Bolton intended to discuss the pace of the drawdown, as well as American troop levels in the region. Bolton was expected to explain that some U.S. troops based in Syria to fight Islamic State extremists will shift to Iraq with the same mission and that some American forces may remain at a key military outpost in al-Tanf, in southern Syria, to counter growing Iranian activity in the region.
Although the Trump administration still does plan to leave Syria, reports of a specific timeline for the withdrawal are incorrect, according to an official, who asked not to be identified discussing the matter because of its sensitivity.
The official said that some American forces would be moved from Syria to Iraq, but that Bolton wanted to listen to the Israelis and the Jordanians, particularly concerns about Iranian influence in Syria, before the U.S. decides on its next steps regarding al-Tanf.
On Friday, a State Department official, who was granted anonymity to discuss the matter, said the pullout would be carried out in consultation with allies and in a fashion that will not allow Islamic State extremists to regroup.
Separately, a Syrian Kurdish official said Saturday that negotiations are ongoing between the government in Damascus and Kurdish officials on how to fill the gap after the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the talks' secrecy, said Syrian Kurdish officials have visited Russia, which is sponsoring the talks between the government and the Kurd-led militia that controls nearly a third of the country.
The official said negotiations are ongoing and "the atmosphere is positive."
TRAVERSING MIDEAST
Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will be crisscrossing the Middle East this week to reassure U.S. allies after the surprise announcement on Syria and James Mattis' resignation as defense chief.
Bolton will meet with Netanyahu before heading to Turkey. Pompeo will be visiting eight countries in the Middle East, including Egypt and Saudi Arabia, over the course of one week starting Tuesday, the State Department announced Friday.
The Syria move, which Trump now says will take place "slowly," prompted Mattis' resignation and was followed by reports the president also decided to halve the U.S. military footprint in Afghanistan.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be seeking reassurance that the U.S. intends to pressure its Kurdish allies to withdraw from Syrian cities including Manbij and, more broadly, from the Turkish border. Turkey also wants the U.S. to collect American weapons supplied to the Kurds, though it's not clear Bolton would make such a commitment.
The national security adviser will be joined in Turkey by Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and James Jeffrey, the U.S. special representative for Syria engagement.
The withdrawal decision raised concerns in Israel that the U.S. is effectively ceding the country to Iran, which is fighting alongside the Lebanese militia Hezbollah and Russia to prop up Assad. Israel fears Iran is seeking to turn Syria into a launch point for future attacks against the Jewish state.
Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria against targets it describes as Iranian bases and weapons convoys.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the administration will ensure there is no power vacuum for terrorists to exploit in Syria as it begins to withdraw troops.
Netanyahu, who long lobbied Trump not to hastily withdraw from Syria, reiterated the request to phase out a withdrawal in a meeting with Pompeo in Brazil this month, according to an Israeli official.
While in Israel, Bolton planned to encourage officials to take a tougher stance against Chinese electronics manufacturers ZTE and Huawei. The U.S. has expressed concerns about potential cyber-penetration by those companies.
Beyond Syria, the best public indication of the administration's vision for the region may come during a speech Pompeo plans to give in Cairo on "the United States' commitment to peace, prosperity, stability, and security in the Middle East," according to the State Department.
Pompeo also will make a symbolically significant visit to Saudi Arabia, his first since rushing to the kingdom soon after the killing of Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi by people close to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
A State Department official said Friday that the kingdom's explanations for the killing don't reach a threshold of credibility and accountability.
Additionally, Pompeo will seek to advance peace talks over the conflict in Yemen during his trip, which will include stops in Jordan, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Oman and Kuwait.
Information for this article was contributed by Margaret Talev, Nick Wadhams, Eltaf Najafizada, Selcan Hacaoglu, Tony Capaccio, David Wainer and Justin Sink of Bloomberg News; and by Zeke Miller and Bassem Mroue of The Associated Press.
A Section on 01/06/2019