Tillerson: U.S. will have an open-ended military presence in Syria

Rex Tillerson.
(Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday that 2,000 U.S. troops will remain in Syria, as there are "strategic threats" to the United States there beyond the Islamic State.

"Iran has dramatically strengthened its presence in Syria," Tillerson said at Stanford University. "Through its position in Syria, Iran is in a stronger position to extend its track record of attacking U.S. interests, allies, and personnel in the region." U.S. troops were sent to northeastern Syria to assist Kurdish fighters battling ISIS militants, and although ISIS now has just a small presence in the country, Tillerson said there's concern of a revival. "We cannot repeat the mistake of 2011, where a premature departure from Iraq allowed al Qaeda in Iraq to survive and eventually become ISIS," he said.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.