LOS ANGELES
\nThe White House said Saturday that US priorities in Syria now are to ensure the country\u2019s conflict does not encourage a resurgence of the Daesh militant group or lead to a \u201chumanitarian catastrophe.\u201d
\nSpillover \u201cis a concern,\u201d said National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, with particular worry about the so-called Daesh, also known as Daesh.
\nIn previous phases of Syria\u2019s long-running civil war, \u201cat its worst, we saw the explosion of Daesh onto the scene,\u201d he said at a conference in Simi Valley, California run by the Reagan National Defense Forum.
\nThe main priority is to ensure \u201cthat the fighting in Syria not lead to a resurgence of Daesh,\u201d Sullivan said. \u201cWe are going to take steps ourselves, directly and working with the Syrian Democratic Forces, the Kurds, to ensure that does not happen.\u201d
\nMilitant forces are in the midst of a lightning offensive and say they have begun to encircle Syria\u2019s capital Damascus.
\nSullivan said the administration of outgoing US President Joe Biden is working to ensure allies Israel, Jordan, Iraq and others in the region, \u201cwho would potentially face spillover effects from Syria, are strong and secure, and we\u2019re in touch with them every day.\u201d
\nWashington is also alert to stopping a \u201chumanitarian catastrophe, both in terms of civilians, access to life-saving necessities, and in terms of the protection of religious and ethnic minorities in Syria,\u201d Sullivan said.
\n\u201cOf course, an event like this happens and Daesh immediately looks to take advantage. We have seen reports of Daesh trying… to reconstitute to a certain extent.\u201d
\nSo the United States will seek to \u201ccontain the potential violence and instability,\u201d protect allies and ensure that Daesh not \u201cget new oxygen out of this\u201d that could lead them to threaten US or allies\u2019 interests, Sullivan added.
\nSullivan\u2019s remarks come as Washington prepares for a transition of power next month back to former president Donald Trump, who defeated Biden in November\u2019s election.
\nTrump, who visited Paris on Saturday, warned against US involvement in Syria, saying the country is \u201ca mess\u201d and \u201cnot our friend.\u201d
\n\u201cTHIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT,\u201d Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
\nSullivan, addressing Trump\u2019s remarks, agreed, saying \u201cthe United States is not going to… militarily dive into the middle of a Syrian civil war.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LOS ANGELES The White House said Saturday that US priorities in Syria now are to ensure the country\u2019s conflict does not encourage a resurgence of the Daesh militant group or lead to a \u201chumanitarian catastrophe.\u201d Spillover \u201cis a concern,\u201d said National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, with particular worry about the so-called Daesh, also known as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":448209,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-448185","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n