Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Trump Defends Syria Move, Doesn't Want US Troops in Mideast
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
October 9, 2019

Share

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday over sharp criticism of his decision to pull back U.S. troops from northeastern Syria, insisting he is focused on the “BIG PICTURE” that doesn’t include American involvement in “stupid endless wars” in the Middle East.
“Fighting between various groups that has been going on for hundreds of years. USA should never have been in Middle East,” Trump said in a series of morning tweets. “The stupid endless wars, for us, are ending!”


Turkey launched its offensive Wednesday against Kurdish fighters in Syria, who have helped the U.S. against the Islamic State. Turkey views the Syrian Kurdish fighters as terrorists, and Trump’s decision to pull back U.S. troops leaves them vulnerable to the military onslaught.
Trump’s words are at odds with longstanding U.S. policy of keeping thousands of American troops in the strategically important region, and his decision is being condemned by some of his staunchest Republican allies.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a close Trump ally, stepped up his criticism of the president Wednesday, telling “Fox & Friends” that if Trump “follows through with this, it would be the biggest mistake of his presidency.”
In tweets, Graham urged prayers for “our Kurdish allies who have been shamelessly abandoned by the Trump Administration,” adding, “This move ensures the reemergence of ISIS.” He also said he would lead an effort in Congress to “make Erdogan pay a heavy price,” referring to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who announced the offensive into northern Syria.

The U.S. Has More Than 10,000 Troops Based Across the Middle East

Another Trump ally, Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, a member of the GOP leadership, said she was sickened by the prospect of a Turkish incursion. “Impossible to understand,” she tweeted, why Trump “is leaving America’s allies to be slaughtered and enabling the return of ISIS.”
Trump argued on Twitter that “GOING INTO THE MIDDLE EAST IS THE WORST DECISION EVER MADE IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY!” He said the U.S. went to war under a “false & now disproven premise, WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION. There were NONE!”
Trump said he is “slowly & carefully” bringing home “our great soldiers & military,” in line with his campaign promise to do so.
He added: “Our focus is on the BIG PICTURE! THE USA IS GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE!”
Trump’s call for ending U.S. military involvement in the Middle East and bringing the troops home was a feature of his presidential campaign, but it flies in the face of many decades of bipartisan American policy, even as the Trump administration and its immediate predecessor have tried to give additional attention to what they see as long-term security threats elsewhere, including from China and Russia.
The U.S. has more than 10,000 troops based across the Middle East, including about 5,200 in Iraq, 1,000 in Syria and several thousand others at bases in Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Also, the U.S. Navy’s Mideast headquarters is at Bahrain in the Persian Gulf.
Just a couple of months ago the Pentagon reestablished a troop presence in Saudi Arabia after a lengthy absence, and in May it added air and naval forces in the region in response to what it views as worrying threats from Iran.

Trump Is Using an Inflated Estimate on the Cost of Wars

As a further sign that the military does not share Trump’s view that the fight against the extremists is over, a press release Wednesday by the U.S.-led military coalition combating IS highlighted recent battlefield gains. It concluded by saying that “removing” IS fighters, weapons and bomb materials “remains a top priority” as the group “continues to plot attacks against innocent civilians and our partners throughout Iraq and northeast Syria.”
Trump has long criticized President George W. Bush’s decision to invade Iraq in 2003, but the subsequent rise of extremist groups like the Islamic State has convinced many national security officials, and lawmakers such as Graham, that a precipitous U.S. troop withdrawal from the region would leave the U.S. and its allies even more vulnerable to extremism.

“We’re not giving Turkey a green light in Congress and we’re not going to abandon the Kurds. If the President does so, we won’t.” Sen. Lindsey Graham
Trump also claimed the U.S. has spent $8 trillion “fighting and policing” in the Middle East, up from the $7 trillion figure he has cited numerous times.
Trump is using an inflated estimate on the cost of wars and referring in part to predicted costs going decades into the future, not money actually spent. Some of the spending also reflects his policy decisions he made since taking office nearly three years ago.
Graham said Congress “will push back” against Turkey. He had said earlier this week that he was working on a bipartisan bill to sanction Turkey if they invade Syria, but he did not mention the proposal during Wednesday’s interview.
“We’re not giving Turkey a green light in Congress and we’re not going to abandon the Kurds,” he said. “If the President does so, we won’t.”
Trump announced Tuesday that he and Erdogan will meet at the White House on Nov. 13.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

‘King of the Hill’ Voice Actor Jonathan Joss Fatally Shot Outside His Texas Home

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Crews Battle Active Wildfire in Yokuts Valley, Evacuation Warning Issued

DON'T MISS

Not Quite ‘Hunger Games,’ but Fresno Budget Hearings Start

DON'T MISS

Clovis CPA Sentenced to Prison for $800K Bank Fraud Scheme

DON'T MISS

His Gang Name Is ‘Goer.’ Now Fresno County Man Is Going to Prison for 20 Years

DON'T MISS

Missing Woman Found Dead in Fresno County Canal Identified

DON'T MISS

Co-Conspirator Sentenced in Fraud Involving Loans to Bitwise

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Stephanie Marie Zamarripa

DON'T MISS

Why Trump Is Mad at ‘Sleazebag’ Leonard Leo

DON'T MISS

Trump Amplifies Outlandish Robot Biden Conspiracy Theory

UP NEXT

Israeli Forces Open Fire a Kilometer Away From Gaza Aid Site, Killing 3, Health Officials Say

UP NEXT

Ukraine and Russia End Their Latest Round of Direct Peace Talks in Istanbul

UP NEXT

American Doctors Are Moving to Canada To Escape the Trump Administration

UP NEXT

Loretta Swit, Emmy-winner Who Played Houlihan on Pioneering TV Series ‘M.A.S.H.,’ Has Died at 87

UP NEXT

1 in 4 US Children Have Parents With Substance Use Disorder, Study Finds

UP NEXT

In Marseille, a Shadow Becomes Art in Banksy’s Latest Street Mural

UP NEXT

Dozens Sickened in Expanding Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Recalled Cucumbers

UP NEXT

Speaker Johnson Raises Campaign Money in Fresno

UP NEXT

UN May Cut Staff by 20%, Internal Memo Says

UP NEXT

Netanyahu Says Israel Accepts Witkoff’s New Gaza Truce Proposal, Media Report

US Judge Dismisses California’s Tariff Lawsuit, Teeing up Appeal

3 hours ago

Young Democrats Offer Lessons for Their Leaders at Party Convention

4 hours ago

California Prisons Have a Narcotics Problem. Now, More People Will Face Canine Searches

5 hours ago

After Years of Undrinkable Water, Our Rural California Community Finally Has Hope

5 hours ago

Fellow Clovis Councilmember, Public Bash Pearce Over Trans Athlete

5 hours ago

Musk Calls Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill ‘a Disgusting Abomination’

5 hours ago

US Tariffs Could Put Air Safety at Risk, Aerospace and Airline Industries Warn

6 hours ago

Trump to Sign Order Doubling Metals Tariffs, White House Says

6 hours ago

California Inmate Gets Five Years for Role in Drone Drug Smuggling Scheme

6 hours ago

Millions Invested in Land for Innovation Village. Will It Be a Fresno Game-Changer?

6 hours ago

Clovis Unified Families ‘Resigned’ To Grad Ceremony Ban, Attorney Says

Barring any last-minute about-faces by Clovis Unified officials, eight high school seniors won’t be joining their classmates at their ...

12 minutes ago

12 minutes ago

Clovis Unified Families ‘Resigned’ To Grad Ceremony Ban, Attorney Says

1 hour ago

Hegseth Orders the Name of Gay Rights Activist Harvey Milk Scrubbed From Navy Ship

1 hour ago

Knicks Fire Coach Tom Thibodeau After First Eastern Conference Finals Berth in 25 Years

U.S. President Donald Trump holds a chart next to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick as Trump delivers remarks on tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 2, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
3 hours ago

US Judge Dismisses California’s Tariff Lawsuit, Teeing up Appeal

4 hours ago

Young Democrats Offer Lessons for Their Leaders at Party Convention

5 hours ago

California Prisons Have a Narcotics Problem. Now, More People Will Face Canine Searches

5 hours ago

After Years of Undrinkable Water, Our Rural California Community Finally Has Hope

5 hours ago

Fellow Clovis Councilmember, Public Bash Pearce Over Trans Athlete

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend