Trump tells military to produce Syria withdrawal plans

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - President Donald Trump instructed his military brass to draw up plans to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria, but agreed to keep them in the war-torn country for the short-term, according to multiple reports published Wednesday.

No firm deadline has yet been set for the withdrawal, reports said.

The White House is expected to issue a statement later Wednesday.

Trump has repeatedly said he wants to pull out of Syria, but the proposal has raised alarm among Pentagon leaders who have warned it could jeopardize gains against the Daesh terrorist group.

A decision was made during a White House meeting Tuesday, according to one report that cited comments from Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats.

Shortly before the meeting Trump signaled countries that want the U.S. to remain in Syria may have to pay for the continued military presence, singling out Saudi Arabia.

The Kingdom's officials have indicated they want the U.S. to stay, Trump said, adding he has told them they may have to foot the bill for the continued operations.

"Saudi Arabia is very interested in our decision, and I said, ‘well you want us to stay, maybe you’re going to have to pay,’" he told reporters at the White House a day earlier.

"We do a lot of things in this country. We do [them] for a lot of reasons, but it’s very costly for our country and it helps other countries a hell of a lot more than it helps us. So we’re going to be making a decision," he said.

Trump railed against U.S. spending in the region, claiming Washington has gotten "nothing out of" the $7 trillion it spent.