General fears Islamic State resurgence

Senate panel told he wasn’t asked about Syria plan

WASHINGTON — The Islamic State could stage a resurgence in Syria once the Pentagon withdraws its troops, the head of the U.S. Central Command told a Senate panel Tuesday in a bleak warning that President Donald Trump’s assertions of victory may be fleeting.

Gen. Joseph Votel, who oversees military operations in the Middle East, also told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Islamic State still controlled around 20 square miles of territory in Syria. That is a steep drop from the group’s pinnacle of 34,000 square miles in 2014 and has been used by the president to bolster his case that U.S. troops and their allies have largely defeated the militant Sunni extremist group.

Trump has indicated that he is ready to declare victory in Syria, a war that was certain to be featured in his State of the Union address Tuesday night.

Votel’s comments came during a testy hearing in which a succession of senators from both parties questioned Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from Syria.

The remarks also came just a week after the release of an annual intelligence assessment of threats facing the United States that diverged sharply from Trump’s statements on a range of issues, including North Korea, Russia and Syria.

“It is important to understand that even though this territory has been reclaimed, the fight against ISIS and violent extremists is not over and our mission has not changed,” Votel said.

For the first time, Votel publicly confirmed on Tuesday that the president’s announcement to withdraw troops from Syria was as much of a surprise to him as it was to the many men and women in the military who have fought the Islamic State alongside Kurdish and international allies since 2014.

“I was not consulted,” Votel said under questioning by Sen. Angus King of Maine, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats.

In his testimony, Votel also diverged from his commander in chief on the role of U.S. troops deployed to Iraq.

U.S. military officials said they could not explain Trump’s claims that U.S. forces in Iraq could take a leading role in monitoring Iran’s nuclear program or other suspicious activities.

Asked by Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., whether the U.S. military focus in Iraq had shifted from the Islamic State group to Iran, Votel replied, “It has not, senator.”