CENTCOM Commander Visits Syria

Army Gen. Joseph Votel, the chief of U.S. Central Command, became the highest-ranked U.S. service member to visit Syria since counter-insurgency operations began in 2014. The Associated Press reported that Votel spent 11 hours visiting with U.S. military advisers there. “We had the opportunity to get around and see a number of things, talk about a wide variety of topics, talk about how things are going [and] talk about things that we could do to continue to increase our cooperation, collaboration and effectiveness,” Votel told a Pentagon reporter afterward. A contingent of journalists accompanied Votel, under the condition that they withhold reporting about the trip until after it was complete. Votel also met with coalition trainers at six locations within Iraq, according to the Defense Department.