The commander of US Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, said Tuesday he "was not consulted" prior to President Donald Trump's December announcement that the US would withdraw its troops from Syria.
And despite Trump's claims that ISIS has been defeated, Gen. Joseph Votel said the fight against the terror group is "not over" and warned ISIS could regroup after US troops leave.
"I was not aware of the specific announcement. Certainly, we are aware that he had expressed a desire and intent in the past to depart Iraq, depart Syria," Votel said during a Tuesday hearing held by the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The commander of US Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, said Tuesday he "was not consulted" prior to President Donald Trump's December announcement that the US would withdraw its troops from Syria.
And despite Trump's claims that ISIS has been defeated, Gen. Joseph Votel said the fight against the terror group is "not over" and warned ISIS could regroup after US troops leave.
"I was not aware of the specific announcement. Certainly, we are aware that he had expressed a desire and intent in the past to depart Iraq, depart Syria," Votel said during a Tuesday hearing held by the Senate Armed Services Committee.
"The fight against ISIS and violent extremists is not over, and our mission has not changed," Votel said.
He said ISIS still controls about 20 square miles of territory in Syria where the terror group still commands approximately 1,000 to 1,500 fighters.
"The fact the President made a decision and we are going to execute his orders here to withdraw forces from Syria and as we do that we're going to do that in a very deliberate manner," Votel added.
A Defense Department Inspector General report published Monday said that "absent sustained [counterterrorism] pressure, ISIS could likely resurge in Syria within six to twelve months and regain limited territory."