To heck with ’em Don declares win, kills Turkey sanctions & leaves Syria to burn
All that was missing was the “Mission Accomplished” banner.
President Trump declared victory in Syria Wednesday, saying a ceasefire deal has largely ended widespread fighting in the war-torn border region without “one drop of American blood” being spilled.
“Let someone else fight over this long-bloodstained piece of sand,” Trump said in a White House speech with Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo by his side.
Brushing aside howls of bipartisan opposition from Congress over the betrayal of America’s one-time allies, the Syrian Kurds, Trump heaped praise on himself in a rambling speech that called the shaky ceasefire an win that others had failed to achieve for “many, many decades.”
“Countless lives are now being saved as a result of our negotiation with Turkey, an outcome reached without spilling one drop of American blood,” Trump said. “No injuries. Nobody shot, nobody killed.”
He announced an easing of economic sanctions on Turkey, which effectively put a stamp of approval on a deal between Turkey and Russia to carve up the de facto autonomous Kurdish region.
Despite the withdrawal claim, Trump conceded that a “small number” of American troops would remain in the region to guard oil fields that were under Kurdish control.
He cryptically said “we’ll be deciding what we’re going to do with it in the future.”
Trump also claimed that the deal would prevent the reemergence of ISIS, even though the Kurds were the main force that fought against the Islamic State. He asserted that only a few ISIS fighters had escaped from Kurdishrun detention camps and that they had mostly been recaptured, without providing any hard evidence.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called Trump’s speech “nonsensical and counterproductive” and suggested the withdrawal will allow a resurgence of ISIS.
Sen. Mitt Romney (RUtah), an occaisional critic of Trump’s, said it was “unthinkable” that Turkey would emerge unscathed from the invasion, which he said hurts America’s interests and emboldens its enemies.
The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a resolution disapproving of Trump’s withdrawal, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he plans to push an even tougher bill.