Trump defends Syria decision amid criticism
WASHINGTON » President Donald Trump sought Thursday to defend his decision to withdraw all U.S. military forces from Syria amid a mounting criticism from lawmakers in both parties — and fresh praise from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In morning tweets, Trump selectively quoted lawmakers and political pundits who agreed with him and argued that the withdrawal was the fulfillment of a campaign pledge and that the United States should not play the role of “Policeman of the Middle East.”
“Getting out of Syria was no surprise. I’ve been campaigning on it for years, and six months ago, when I very publicly wanted to do it, I agreed to stay longer,” Trump said in his tweets, adding: “Do we want to be there forever?”
Trump said it was time for others in the region to step up against the Islamic State terrorist group and other hostile forces. “Does the USA want to be the Policeman of the Middle East, getting NOTHING but spending precious lives and trillions of dollars protecting others who, in almost all cases, do not appreciate what we are doing?” he asked.
His tweets came a day after Trump justified pulling out of Syria by claiming that the United States had defeated the Islamic State, an assertion that was widely criticized as premature, risking future aggression in the absence of U. S. forces.
The move plunged U. S. allies into uncertainty and created the potential for greater regional instability even as it provided Russia and its ally, Syrian President Bashar alAssad, a chance to cement greater control over the country amid a civil war.
Some of the most persistent criticism of Trump’s move came Thursday from Sen. Lindsey Graham, RS.C., an ally of the president on most issues.
Graham, who earlier called Trump’s decision “a disaster,” drafted a nonbinding resolution for the Senate to call on Trump to reconsider his decision and for any future decision to withdraw to come only after a “robust interagency process” — implicit criticism of Trump’s lack of consultation before Wednesday’s announcement.
“I think there’s a lot of votes for it,” Graham said at a news conference, adding that he was confident Trump had not consulted senior members of his national security team before making his decision.
“Only in President Trump’s parallel alternate universe has ISIS been defeated,” said Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N. J., the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who appeared alongside Graham at the news conference on Capitol Hill.
During a separate news conference, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D- Calif., criticized Trump for making his decision in “a cavalier fashion,” calling it “a Christmas present to Vladimir Putin.”
Russia — Assad’s most powerful ally — turned the tide in the civil war in Assad’s favor and has maintained a military presence there.
In one of his tweets, Trump quoted two Republican lawmakers who agreed with his decision, Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Mike Lee of Utah.
“I’m proud of the President today to hear that he is declaring victory in Syria,” Trump quoted Paul as saying. “I couldn’t agree more with the presidents decision,” Trump quoted Lee as saying.
He made no mention of criticism coming from Capitol Hill, including a letter sent Wednesday by a bipartisan group of six senators, including Graham.
The letter asked Trump to reconsider, warning that withdrawing U.S. troops from Syria would “renew and embolden” the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, in the Middle East.
Graham continued to raise objections to the move Thursday, disputing Trump’s assertion that others in the region could continue the fight against ISIS.