Defense & Intelligence Policy, Business and Technology

U.S. Defense Secretary Mattis to talk Islamic State, Syria in Middle East

Reuters: On his first trip as U.S defense secretary to parts of the Middle East and Africa, Jim Mattis will focus on the fight against Islamic State and articulating President Donald Trump's policy toward Syria, officials and experts say.

His trip may give clarity to adversaries and allies alike about the Trump administration's tactics in the fight against Islamic State militants and its willingness to use military power more liberally than former President Barack Obama did.

One of the main questions from allies about Syria is whether Washington has formulated a strategy to prevent areas seized from militants from collapsing into ethnic and sectarian feuds or succumbing to a new generation of extremism, as parts of Iraq and Afghanistan have done since the U.S. invaded them.

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