Recent attacks against American forces and operations against Islamic State militants illustrate the complex security challenges the U.S. continues to face in Syria. The U.S. intervened in 2014 during the time when ISIS was able to control vast areas of both Syria and Iraq. Although victory was declared over the ISIS caliphate in 2019, the troops remain in Syria to this day. In early March, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, made a visit to the region to make a firsthand assessment of the U.S. mission in Syria. He was quoted as saying that U.S. forces along with their Kurdish-Syrian partners established a lasting presence to guarantee that ISIS is not able to reconstitute as a serious military force in the region. The Chairman would also say that the presence of American troops is “worth the risk” as American troops in the region also face threats from Iranian-linked actors