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Article snippet: MORE’s strategy in Syria and Afghanistan took a one-two punch on Tuesday, first from his own intelligence officials and then from the Senate’s top Republican. The top intelligence officials offered a contradictory assessment of Trump’s statement that ISIS has been defeated, warning that thousands of the terrorist organization’s fighters remain in Iraq and Syria and that the group is “intent on resurging.” The warning was delivered by Director of National Intelligence MORE and CIA Director Gina Haspel in a hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee and an accompanying report on worldwide threats. While Trump last month ordered the withdrawal of 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria and declared the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has been “defeated,” intelligence officials warned Tuesday that the group “will exploit any reduction in [counterterrorism] pressure to strengthen its clandestine presence and accelerate rebuilding key capabilities, such as media production and external operations.” Separately on Capitol Hill, Senate Majority Leader MORE (R-Ky.) announced he will introduce an amendment warning against a “precipitous” withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria and Afghanistan. In one of his sharpest breaks yet with Trump, McConnell said during a speech on the Senate floor that the measure would “acknowledge the plain fact” that al Qaeda, ISIS and their subsidiaries “pose a serious threat to us here at home.” Since Trump’s initial announcement in December, ad... Link to the full article to read more