With 2,000 U.S. military personnel in Syria, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis also laid out the requirements to withdraw American forces, a goal Trump announced in April when he said he wanted it to happen “very soon,” Bloomberg reported.

Mattis suggested a longer timeline, saying that would come after Islamic State is destroyed, “local troops who can take over” are fully trained and a United Nations-led peace initiative stalled years ago begins “making traction.” He added that some drawdowns of U.S. forces could occur as progress is made on those issues.