BISHKEK: The decision by U.S. President Barack Obama to send special forces to Syria is strictly focused on fighting Islamic State and does not signify the United States is entering Syria's civil war, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said.
"President Obama has made a very strong and forceful and simple decision entirely in keeping with his originally stated policy that we must defeat and destroy Daesh," Kerry said, using the Arabic term for Islamic State.
"It is not a decision to enter into Syria's civil war. It is not an action focused on (Syrian President Bashar) Assad, it focused exclusively on Daesh and in augmenting our ability to rapidly attack Daesh," Kerry told a news briefing on a visit to Kyrgyzstan's capital, Bishkek.
Reuters
