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News ID: 51915
Publish Date : 18 April 2018 - 21:43

‘Bolton Spurs Arab States to Create Regional Force in Syria’

RIYADH (Dispatches) – John Bolton, U.S. President Donald Trump’s new national security adviser, is spearheading a push to establish a coalition of Arab military forces in Syria to pave the way for an American withdrawal, according to reports.
The White House is considering putting "a compelling reward” on the table in order to convince Arab states like Saudi Arabia to deploy forces to Syria, CNN reported, citing a source close to the White House.
The idea of creating an Arab force recently gained traction after Trump declared earlier this month that he wanted American troops out of Syria "very soon” and have other countries "take care of it."
The United States in particular is enlisting assistance from Egypt, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates should the U.S. significantly reduce its troops size in Syria.
The U.S. and its regional allies have backed terrorists opposed to the Syrian government since the conflict broke out in 2011.
Bolton recently called Egypt's acting intelligence chief, Abbas Kamel, to determine whether his country would be willing to deploy to Syria, according to CNN and The Wall Street Journal.
Mike Pompeo, Trump’s pick for Secretary of State is also involved in the initiative.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir has announced that the regime in Riyadh is ready to send troops into Syria as part of a potential wider deployment led by the United States.
Jubeir said that Riyadh had always been supportive of any U.S.-led military action in Syria since a conflict began in the country in early 2011.
"We are in discussions with the U.S. and have been since the beginning of the Syrian crisis about sending forces into Syria,” he said while at a news conference in Riyadh with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
The comments by the top Saudi diplomat come days after the United States led an air campaign against certain Syrian military facilities in response to a suspected chemical attack near the Syrian capital earlier this month.
Jubeir reiterated that the proposal for sending troops into Syria was not a new one, saying that Saudis had sought to have boots on the ground in Syria during the time of former U.S. President Barack Obama.

Syrians pass along a damaged street in Douma on the outskirts of Damascus on April 16, 2018.