Bronx, NY—Representative Eliot L. Engel, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, today made the following statement regarding a report that the Department of Defense Inspector General has drafted an assessment saying that without continued pressure, ISIS could regain territory in six to 12 months:

“We don’t need hindsight to know that the President’s withdrawal plan in Syria is a disaster waiting to happen. If reporting is accurate, the Pentagon will soon acknowledge what I believe has been abundantly clear: ISIS has not been defeated, and the withdrawal of American forces before finishing the job will worsen instability and heighten threats to the United States and our allies. If the President didn’t ignore his senior intelligence officials, perhaps he would arrive at the same conclusion. I want to see American troops come home as soon as possible, but it will be far more costly to return to Syria to combat a resurgent ISIS than to ensure this dangerous enemy is defeated now.”

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