Deadline

Report: Trump Says U.S. Must Finish Syria Mission in Six Months

Advisers said to warn him it was an unrealistic target.

An angry meeting between Donald Trump and his national-security team and the military’s top brass this week saw the president allegedly demand the U.S. finishes its mission against ISIS in Syria within six months. CNN reports that, during the National Security Council meeting at the White House, Trump was warned by advisers, including Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff, that leaving Syria before the job was finished would allow Russia, Turkey, and Iran to exert greater control over the country. Dunford reportedly asked the president to exactly what he wanted to see happen in Syria, to which Trump replied U.S. troops must finish their mission against ISIS in Syria within six months. The report states that military officials— including Defense Secretary James Mattis—warned that the deadline was unrealistic, but Trump responded by telling his team to get it done. Trump reportedly spent much of meeting complaining about how much the Syria mission was costing the U.S. with nothing in return.