Chemical-arms use remains red line, Bolton warns Syria

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 Kurdled militia that controls nearly a third of the country. The official said negotiations are ongoing and “the atmosphere is positive.” 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.

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.

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