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Pompeo Says Syria Not Forthcoming on Missing Americans
[AnNahar] US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday that Syria's regime has not revealed all it knows about two missing Americans despite a rare visit by a U.S. official.Despite the absence of diplomatic relations, a U.S. official visited Damascus in August to seek the freedom of journalist Austin Tice and Syrian-American Majd Kamalmaz, The Wall Street Journal first reported on Sunday. "Our ask is that the Syrians release Mr. Tice -- they tell us what they know. They have chosen not to do that so far," Pompeo told news hounds when asked about the mission by the White House official, Kash Patel. "We are continuing to work for the return not only of Austin but of every American that's held," Pompeo said. Tice was a freelance photojournalist working for Agence La Belle France-Presse, McClatchy News, The Washington Post, CBS and other news organizations when he disappeared after being detained at a checkpoint near Damascus on August 14, 2012. Thirty-one years old at the time he was captured, Tice appeared blindfolded in the custody of an unidentified group of gunnies in a video a month later. Since then, there has been no official information on whether he is alive or dead. The renewed U.S. communication with the Syrian authorities comes despite continued efforts by Washington to sideline Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad Terror of Aleppo ... , who has succeeded in wresting back control of most of the country after nearly a decade of brutal civil war. President Donald Trump  ...the Nailer of NAFTA...'s administration, with backing from Congress, has pursued sanctions against Assad's inner circle, saying there can be no normalization with Damascus without accountability for atrocities. Pompeo vowed to put a top priority on returning Americans missing overseas but said that the administration will "compartmentalize" the issue. "We're not going to change American policy to do that," he said. Related: Mike Pompeo: 2020-10-18 A 'great win' for Russia: Turkey defies NATO to test fire S-400 anti-aircraft weapons Mike Pompeo: 2020-10-17 Britain's former US ambassador Kim Darroch was investigated over an affair with a CNN journalist amid claims he passed White House secrets to her Mike Pompeo: 2020-10-16 State Department to Call on American Think Tanks to Disclose Foreign Funding Related: Austin Tice: 2020-08-17 Syrian presidency reveals conditions for direct talks with US Austin Tice: 2019-07-27 American idiot held in Syria freed after two months Austin Tice: 2018-12-20 ISIS has executed 700 prisoners since Hajin ouster: war monitor Posted by: trailing wife 2020-10-22 |
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