suggestion, frankly. reporter: president trump announced in december he would pull more than 2,000 remaining troops from syria. we have won against isis. we ve beaten them and we ve beaten them badly. reporter: votel aligning himself with the u.s. intelligence community assessment that despite significant advances, there are tens of thousands of isis fighters spread across syria and iraq. and the decision to pull out of syria leading defense secretary james mattis to resign last year. last week votel made a stunning revelation that the president did not consult him on the decision to withdraw. certainly we are aware that he has expressed a desire and intent in the past to depart iraq. so you weren t consulted before that decision was announced? we were not i was not consulted. reporter: nonetheless, votel emphasizing he is carrying out the president s orders. this morning votel stressed military pressure must be