NM leaders question Syria pullout
President Donald Trump’s decision to pull troops out of northeastern Syria following the elimination of the Islamic State’s caliphate isn’t playing well among members of Congress of both parties.
Two members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation are among those questioning the decision.
U.S. Sen. Tom Udall said the president is “impulsively and recklessly opening the door to a Turkish offensive that will only lead to more tragic loss of life, suffering, and instability— while sending a terrible message to future allies.”
The Turkish offensive has been launched against Syrian Kurds who fought alongside American troops in the fight against ISIS. The Kurdish fighters had been responsible for guarding ISIS prisoners and their families after the fall of the caliphate.
“The president has simply failed to provide U.S. leadership or conduct the diplomacy that is needed to allow a responsible U.S. drawdown in Syria, protect all our allies, and create stability in the region,” the Democratic senator said. “Congress never approved military action in Syria, and it’s clear that the consequences have been a tragically confused mission that the president is now making worse.”
Udall, who is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he supports “ending endless wars.”
“But that is not what President Trump is doing in Syria,” he said.
U.S. Rep. Xochitl Torres Small, D-N.M., is requesting additional information on the administration’s decision to withdraw troops.
“This president’s decision will put our Kurdish allies in peril, have grave effects on the stability of the Middle East and threaten America’s national security,” said Torres Small, who is a member of the House Armed Services Committee. “Amidst increasing tensions around the world, the U.S. can’t turn its back on allies who have faithfully fought alongside our service members.”
She said the decision to reverse a long-held position jeopardizes the U.S.’s greater counterterrorism efforts.
“I urge the president and the administration to heed bipartisan calls to reconsider this decision,” she said.
COMMITTEE CHAIR CONCLUDES N.M. TOUR: House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith concluded his visit to New Mexico with a tour of Los Alamos National Laboratory this past Wednesday. U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján accompanied Smith, a Democrat from Washington state, on the tour.
“I was excited to welcome Chairman Adam Smith to New Mexico to see the trailblazing research Los Alamos National Laboratory is doing to drive innovation and support our nation’s national security,” said Luján, who is co-chair of the National Labs Caucus. “New Mexico’s national labs are major economic drivers that support New Mexico families and communities.”
Smith said he got to see “how critically important the state is to our national security.”
“Our national labs, including Los Alamos National Laboratory, directly advance our nation’s defense by driving innovation and supplying our service members with the tools and technology they need to execute their missions,” he said.
Smith also toured White Sands Missile Range and Kirtland Air Force Base on Tuesday and Wednesday with U.S. Reps. Torres Small and Deb Haaland.
CLIMATE CHANGE COMPETITION: U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich announced the Youth Climate Change Challenge last week, inviting New Mexico students from grades K-12 to submit drawings, paintings, poetry and short essays about what the climate crisis means for them. The senator will visit the classrooms of the first-place winners.
The deadline for the first round of submissions from students in Albuquerque is Nov. 8. Additional challenges will take place in 2020 in other cities across New Mexico. Information on the challenge can be found on the senator’s website, www.heinrich.senate.gov/ climatechallenge.