Trump OKs months for Syria withdrawal
President agrees to extend timeline for U.S. troop exit
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has agreed to give the military about four months to withdraw the 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria, administration officials said Monday, backtracking from his abrupt order two weeks ago that the military pull out within 30 days.
Trump confirmed on Twitter that troops would “slowly” be withdrawn, but complained that he got little credit for the move after a fresh round of criticism from retired Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal and revelations from the departing White House chief of staff, John Kelly, himself a retired Marine general, about the president’s impulsive decisionmaking.
“If anybody but Donald Trump did what I did in Syria, which was an ISIS loaded mess when I became President, they would be a national hero,” Trump wrote. “ISIS is mostly gone, we’re slowly sending our troops back home to be with their families, while at the same time fighting ISIS remnants.”
For a president who has looked to the military for affirmation throughout his campaign and presidency and boasted about stocking his Cabinet with what he called “my generals,” his decision Dec. 19 to withdraw quickly from Syria was a significant split from his military and civilians advisers. The criticism from McChrystal, who commanded U.S.-led troops in Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010, echoed long-standing denunciations by former senior intelligence officials, who have warned that Trump’s approach to national security is reckless.
But during a surprise trip to Iraq last week, Trump privately told the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria, Lt. Gen. Paul J. LaCamera, that the military could have several months to complete a safe and orderly withdrawal, according to two U.S. officials. And Sunday, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told reporters that a “pause situation” on the troop withdrawal was in effect.
A Pentagon spokesman, Cmdr. Sean Robertson, said Monday, “I’ll let the president’s words speak for themselves.”
By extending the timetable for withdrawal to several months, Trump stuck to his commitment to untangle the United States from yearslong military commitments but also heeded warnings from current and former military leaders of the danger of a quick exit. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who resigned in protest over Trump’s decision, said that leaving Syria in 30 days would jeopardize the fight against the Islamic State, betray its Syrian KurdishArab allies on the ground, and cede the eastern part of the country to the Syrian government and its Russian and Iranian allies.
Nevertheless, Trump’s latest plan left open the question of whether an orderly pullout from Syria would happen. Military planners say they need about 120 days, or four months, to carry out a withdrawal that allows time to decide which equipment to move elsewhere in the region, leave behind with allies or disable to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Syrian government or Russia or Iran.
Military officials have declined to specify the timing of the departure, partly for operational security reasons and partly because many details are still quite fluid, and officials recognize that Trump could change his mind at any moment and speed up the departure.