‘Syria decision made in haste’
Trump didn’t consult allies before pulling out US troops, say officials
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw US 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 the Islamic State (IS) group, according to US and Turkish officials.
Trump stunned his Cabinet, lawmakers and much of the world 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 US officials and a Turkish official briefed on the matter said.
The Dec 14 call, described by officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, provided insight into a consequential decision that prompted the resignation of widely respected Defence Secretary Jim Mattis.
It also set off a frantic, four-day scramble to convince Trump either to reverse or delay the decision.
The White House rejected the officials’ description of the call.
“In no uncertain terms, reporting throughout this story is not true,” National Security Council (NSC) spokesman Garrett Marquis said.
“It is clear from the context that this false version of events is from sources who lack authority on the subject, possibly from unnamed sources in Turkey.”
Despite losing the physical caliphate, thousands of IS fighters remain in Iraq and Syria, and the group continues to carry out insurgent attacks and could easily 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 US-backed Kurdish rebels in northeast Syria, where the US forces are based. 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.
But the officials said Trump, who had previously accepted such advice and convinced the Turkish leader not to attack the Kurds and put US troops at risk, ignored the script and sided with Erdogan.
In the following days, Trump remained unmoved by those trying to convince him to reverse or at least delay the decision to give the military and Kurdish forces time to prepare for an orderly withdrawal.
“The talking points were very firm,” said one of the officials, explaining that Trump was advised to oppose a Turkish incursion into northern Syria and suggest that the US and Turkey work together to address security concerns.
“Everybody said push back and try to offer (Turkey) something that’s a small win, possibly holding territory on the border.”
But Erdogan quickly put Trump on the defensive, reminding him that he had repeatedly said the only reason for US troops to be in Syria was to defeat IS and that the group had been 99% defeated.
“Why are you still there?” the second official said Erdogan asked Trump, telling him the Turks could deal with the remaining militants.
With Erdogan on the line, Trump asked national security adviser John Bolton, who was listening in, why US troops remained in Syria if what Erdogan was saying was true.
Bolton said the national security team agreed that victory over IS had to be enduring, which meant more than taking away its territory.
Trump was not dissuaded and quickly capitulated by pledging to withdraw, shocking both Bolton and Erdogan. — AP