“As I look at the theater, we remain focused on Iran as our central problem. This headquarters focuses on Iran, executing deterrence activities against Iran, and doing those things,” said McKenzie at an U.S. Institute for Peace event.
McKenzie says that an ultimate and clear-cut defeat of ISIS is unlikely, because ISIS is an ideology that has enraptured so many pockets of people around the globe. McKenzie does not anticipate the U.S. having an enduring presence in Syria, but said that the U.S. involvement in Syria is not a military decision, but a political decision.
“I don’t think we’re going to be in Syria forever. I don’t know how long we’re going to be in Syria,” McKenzie said.
In October 2019, President Trump pulled a significant amount of troops out of Iraq. He promised during his 2016 campaign to end war in the Middle East and to defeat ISIS.
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