Sources tie Erdogan call to Trump’s Syria exit plan
TURKISH INFLUENCE
WASHINGTON • U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw American troops from Syria was made hastily, without consulting his national security team or allies, and over strong objections from virtually everyone involved in the fight against ISIL, according to U.S. and Turkish officials.
Trump stunned his Cabinet, lawmakers and much of the world with the move by rejecting the advice of his top aides and agreeing to a withdrawal in a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week, two U.S. officials and a Turkish official briefed on the matter told The Associated Press.
The Dec. 14 call provides insight into a consequential Trump decision that prompted the resignation of widely respected Defence Secretary Jim Mattis. It also set off a frantic, four-day scramble to convince the president either to reverse or delay the decision.
The White House rejected the description of the call from the officials but was not specific. The State Department and Pentagon declined to comment on the account of the decision to withdraw the troops, which have been in Syria to fight ISIL since 2015.
Despite losing the physical caliphate, thousands of ISIL fighters remain in Iraq and Syria, and the group continues to carry out insurgent attacks and could move back into territory it once held if American forces withdraw.
The Dec. 14 call came a day after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu agreed to have the two presidents discuss Erdogan’s threats to launch a military operation against U.S.-backed Kurdish rebels in northeast Syria, where American forces are based. The NSC then set up the call.
Pompeo, Mattis and other members of the national security team prepared a list of talking points for Trump to tell Erdogan to back off, the officials said.
Officials said Trump, who had previously accepted such advice and convinced the Turkish leader not to attack the Kurds and put U.S. troops at risk, ignored the script.
Instead, he sided with Erdogan. In the following days, Trump remained unmoved by those scrambling to convince him to reverse or delay the decision to give the military and Kurdish forces time to prepare for an orderly withdrawal.
Word of the imminent withdrawal began to seep out Wednesday after U.S. Central Command chief Gen. Joseph Votel started to inform his commanders and the Kurds of the decision. Following the official announcement the White House emphasized the U.S. will continue to support the fight against ISIL and remains ready to “re-engage” when needed. But in a tweet, Trump said U.S. troops would no longer be fighting ISIL on behalf of others.
“Time to focus on our Country & bring our youth back home where they belong!”