compliance. remember, even if pompeo says we are suspending today which we expect him to say, there is a six-month withdrawal process. you still buy yourself a few months for the russians to do the right thing, destroy missiles and remove capabilities. i don t think that s likely. the russians said publicly as recently as a few months ago they don t believe the inf treaty is in their best national security interest. getting a change of behavior out of them isn t likely. the administration is trying to lay it on the table and pressure them to come into compliance. how much of this is about russia and how much is about china? great question. i think actually it s both. it is certainly about russia. we knew at the end of the obama administration we were pressuring russia to get into compliance. they now have four battalions of the missile systems of intermediate range and violating the treaty. it s also a recognition that china which is not a party of
mcgerk was, and pompeo is there saying he wants this done, we have to make it work. we can maybe slow it down. but i have been told by some people that were directly involved we will have all our people out by the end of april. we re sending more troops in to get them out because that s the withdrawal process. they ll be out by end of april. we did not tell the brits, french and others on the ground. they re left standing and stranded. not even telling their own people they re on the ground in syria. we know that. and the fact is they were given no heads up. so the larger, terrible impression is that our closest allies in nato and around the world in the gulf is real, were given no advance warning. gets to the points on process. one other topic that came up, i am not going to play the clip, but tom cotton asked for a show of hands about a certain cell
commitment to be a force for good in the middle east. pompeo and national security advisor john bolton traveling to the region this week to reassure our allies following president trump s decision to pull some 2,000 u.s. troops out of syria. the u.s. military said friday that it had begun the withdrawal process despite mixed messages from the administration since the surprise announcement in december. jonathan shanzer is senior vice president of the foundation for defense of democrats. welcome back to the show. appreciate it. so mike pompeo, john bolton both in the middle east this week. how well did they actually reassure the allies? look, i think they both accomplished several things while in the region. i think pompeo s speech in particular reinforced the u.s. message that it is going to take a tough line on iran. i think that pompeo trying to encourage the arab world to work with the israelis to counsel the iranians with something that needed to be said in the region.
commitment to be a force for good in the middle east. pompeo and national security advisor john bolton traveling to the region this week to reassure our allies following president trump s decision to pull some 2,000 u.s. troops out of syria. the u.s. military said friday that it had begun the withdrawal process despite mixed messages from the administration since the surprise announcement in december. jonathan shanzer is senior vice president of the foundation for defense of democrats. welcome back to the show. appreciate it. so mike pompeo, john bolton both in the middle east this week. how well did they actually reassure the allies? look, i think they both accomplished several things while in the region. i think pompeo s speech in particular reinforced the u.s. message that it is going to take a tough line on iran. i think that pompeo trying to encourage the arab world to work with the israelis to counsel the iranians with something that
syria in a way that makes sure that isis is defeated. i never said we re doing it that quickly. even administration officials privately acknowledge and various u.s. allies have addressed confusion about publicly from a 30-day withdrawal to a four-month withdrawal process to one now contingent upon a number of political variables. then in a speech, pompeo shed little light on how long troops will stay in syria, on whether this is a fast or slow withdrawal, sounding something like both in the same breath. america will not retreat until the terror fight is over. president trump has made the decision to bring our troops home from syria, but this isn t a change of mission. we remain committed to the complete dismantling of isis. the isis threat for our part, air strikes will continue as targets arise. administration official acknowledges to cnn that this will be a long process. for logistical reasons and