OPINION | This article contains commentary that reflects the author's opinion.
On Monday, President Trump announced that the United States will be bringing all troops home from Northern Syria, signaling a major policy shift for the United States and its presence in the region.
The president unveiled the decision in a series of tweets which said the U.S. would be completely departing, leaving US allies and other regional authorities “to figure the situation out.”
“The United States was supposed to be in Syria for 30 days, that was many years ago,” Trump said, starting the series of posts. “We stayed and got deeper and deeper into battle with no aim in sight. When I arrived in Washington, ISIS was running rampant in the area.”
The United States was supposed to be in Syria for 30 days, that was many years ago. We stayed and got deeper and deeper into battle with no aim in sight. When I arrived in Washington, ISIS was running rampant in the area. We quickly defeated 100% of the ISIS Caliphate,…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2019
Trump said one major issue he had with remaining in the region is the unfair cost the U.S. was having to pay to incarcerate former ISIS fighters.
“We quickly defeated 100% of the ISIS Caliphate including capturing thousands of ISIS fighters, mostly from Europe. But Europe did not want them back, they said you keep them USA!” the president continued. “I said ‘NO, we did you a great favor and now you want us to hold them in U.S. prisons at tremendous cost. They are yours for trials.’”
“They again said ‘NO,’ thinking, as usual, that the U.S. is always the ‘sucker,’ on NATO, on Trade, on everything,” Trump said. “The Kurds fought with us, but were paid massive amounts of money and equipment to do so. They have been fighting Turkey for decades.”
…..again said “NO,” thinking, as usual, that the U.S. is always the “sucker,” on NATO, on Trade, on everything. The Kurds fought with us, but were paid massive amounts of money and equipment to do so. They have been fighting Turkey for decades. I held off this fight for….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2019
Trump said this decision was long-overdue, suggesting he is unlikely to waver on it.
“I held off this fight for almost 3 years, but it is time for us to get out of these ridiculous Endless Wars, many of them tribal, and bring our soldiers home. WE WILL FIGHT WHERE IT IS TO OUR BENEFIT, AND ONLY FIGHT TO WIN,” the president said.
He added: “Turkey, Europe, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Russia and the Kurds will now have to figure the situation out, and what they want to do with the captured ISIS fighters in their ‘neighborhood.’ They all hate ISIS, have been enemies for years. We are 7000 miles away and will crush ISIS again if they come anywhere near us!”
…figure the situation out, and what they want to do with the captured ISIS fighters in their “neighborhood.” They all hate ISIS, have been enemies for years. We are 7000 miles away and will crush ISIS again if they come anywhere near us!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2019
Good Morning America reports:
Turkey is set to invade Syria, as the country had been threatening in recent months, with the U.S. said it would remove all of its forces from the “immediate area,” according to the White House.
A U.S. official confirmed Monday that American troops in northeast Syria were pulling back.
The Turkish move is likely to put the Kurdish forces that helped the U.S. defeat ISIS in peril. Turkey considers the Kurdish forces — the PKK and YPG — terrorist organizations.
The news came late Sunday after President Donald Trump spoke to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan by phone earlier in the day.
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