Pentagon chief presented counter-IS plan to White House
WASHINGTON — Defence Secretary Jim Mattis on Monday gave the White House a plan to “rapidly defeat” the Islamic State group, a Pentagon spokesman said Monday. The strategy includes significant elements of the approach President Donald Trump inherited, while potentially deepening U.S. military involvement in Syria.
Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said Mattis, who travelled to Iraq last week to help inform his thinking, presented the results of a 30-day strategy review at a Cabinet-level meeting of the National Security Council. It’s unclear whether the meeting included Trump, who said last week his goal is to “obliterate” IS.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Mattis was ensuring that he had input from other Cabinet agencies.
“That can help guide where we go from here,” Spicer said.