US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley violated Syrian sovereignty with an unannounced visit to an illegal US military base in northeastern Syria. The ostensible purpose of the visit was to review the US military campaign against ISIS in Syria. In conversation with reporters traveling with him, Milley said the mission was worth the risks, claiming that it was tied to the national security of the United States. “So I think that an enduring defeat of ISIS and continuing to support our friends and allies in the region ... I think those are important tasks that can be done,” he said, reported Reuters.