Donald the Meek: Three Times Trump Announced a Syria Withdrawal and Three Times He Broke Under Pressure

What a wimp

Yeah right

Following the highly successful raid to take down ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, President Trump announced he was tired of “endless wars” and—for the third time in his presidency—said he was withdrawing all troops from Syria. But then he changed his mind—again—declaring U.S. troops would stay to “secure the oil.”

Trump’s instincts to get out of Syria are solid and highly beneficial to America; his willingness to be talked out of good policy is neither.

Three times in the past 18 months Trump has announced American troops would be withdrawn from Syria. Three times senior administration figures or influential advisors walked him back. 

In March 2018, after it had become clear the U.S. and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were successful in their efforts to drive ISIS out of their so-called capital Raqqa, Syria, Trump said, “(w)e’ll be coming out of Syria, like very soon.” 

Barely a month later, then-Secretary of Defense Mattis poured cold water on the idea, countering, “We do not want to simply pull out before the diplomats have won the peace” and directly contradicting the president’s stated intent, added that he wanted to leave a “strong and lasting footprint” in Syria.

Trump apparently capitulated to Mattis’ pressure and the troops weren’t withdrawn. Instead, they sat in the Syrian desert, searching for something to do. Since there was no longer a valid military purpose for the troops, they went in search of other missions, variously identified as keeping ISIS downcountering Iran, or protecting the SDF from Turkey.

By the end of 2018, however, Trump had apparently soured on Mattis and again declared the troops in Syria would be withdrawn, this time prompting Mattis’ resignation. With Mattis now out of the way, it seemed the troops would actually be withdrawn this time.

Instead, then-National Security Advisor John Bolton provided the pushback. Again, Trump capitulated to the pressure. Although the number of troops was partially reduced, the core presence of American troops on the ground in Syria continued – without an attainable military mission and in the absence of any criteria that would ever signal the mission’s end.

After firing both Mattis and Bolton, however, Trump’s patience seemingly came to an abrupt end following an October 6th phone call with Turkish president Recep Erdogan. American troops, the White House said, “will not support or be involved in the operation, and United States forces, having defeated the ISIS territorial ‘Caliphate,’ will no longer be in the immediate area.”

Trump took abrupt and bipartisan heat for saying we would withdraw. Pundits on both the left and right excoriated the president. Congress passed a resolution with an overwhelming majority of both parties condemning the move. Then, according to reports, Senator Lindsey Graham and retired 4-star general Jack Keane gave Trump a new reason to keep troops in place.

“I like oil. We’re keeping the oil” in Syria, the president said, and the United States would, therefore, “leave soldiers because we’re keeping the oil.” Thus, yet again, Trump had been talked out of enacting sound military policy. Far from benefiting the United States, keeping U.S. troops on Syrian soil will impose significant costs on our country with no potential for gain.

Since the first and second withdrawal announcements came and went without action, American troops have been both killed and wounded in action. They did not die in the noble pursuit of defending America—they lost their lives in the absence of a mission, devoid of purpose, while the nation’s political and military leaders searched for a reason to avoid withdrawal. The risk has only increased since.

Already twice since the Turkish invasion of northern Syria last month, artillery shells have landed dangerously close to American troops.  Russian and Syrian combat troops have been moved closer to U.S. positions. Turkish military personnel are still engaged in lethal operations in the vicinity, and American troops remain in danger of friendly fire. Why are our service personnel daily risking their lives in this chaotic land where a civil war continues to rage and in which no American vital national interests are involved?

Not for any mission that improves American security, but to secure Syrian oil fields. Such a mission has no basis in international law. And Congress has not authorized U.S. troops to conduct operations in Syria (hence, no legal domestic basis). Moreover, even if there were a legal basis, there is so little oil involved that there is no strategic benefit to our country in light of the substantial risks.

There is nothing to gain by staying in Syria and a great deal to lose.

Source: The National Interest

16 Comments
  1. GAguidestones says

    Each time Trump declared he was withdrawing troops from Syria, the little country just west of Jordan, and south of Lebanon said, “Don’t you dare”.

  2. Paul nmn says

    Trump was never in the military he never learned what leadership means.
    Nobody should be able to vote or run for office that hasn’t served in the military.

    1. Curmudgeon_49 says

      1) There are plenty of people in the military who haven’t learned what leadership means.
      2) There are plenty of people, not in the military, who understand leadership very well.

  3. Reynald Deschamps says

    Obviousely the writer is totally blind and did not realize that the real power thast be is not the President but the MILITARY INDUSTRIAL INTELLIGENCE SURVEILLANCE COMPLEX (who remove Presidents at will if he doesn’t follow the war agenda planned decades ahead)…JFK found it the hard way while planning to remove “advisers” and troops from Vienam and re organize the CIA.
    Selective memory is our Fake News Media forte gforgetting Obama who promessed to CLOSE Guantanamo bay if elected and remove troops from Iraq… all he did is moving them back to Afghanistan
    It is time for the American idiot towake up the Law of the land is suppose to be our Constitution Unfortunately we are under the UNCONSTITUTIONAL PATRIOT ACT all under surveillance by the police state ..IT DID NOT START WITH TRUMP. he is NOT the cause he is only the sypmtome …

  4. Reynald Deschamps says

    Daniel L Davis
    You should learn the facts The DEFENSE POLICY BOARD not the President decide WHO is “the enemy du jour” and the real power that be is the Military Industrial intelligence surveillance Complex
    The BIGGEST WIMP is Obama promessing to remove troops from Iraq instead he moved them to Afghanistan to watch the poppy fields for the CIA and the Unical pipelines of Natural Gas not to mention his LIE about closing Gunatanamo Bay if elected..Obama added 300 pages of legislation to the UNCONSTITUTIONAL Patriot Act…
    FACT recently Pentagon declassified documents prove that we are wasting Billions (actually the cost is & 8 Trillions) between Iraq and Afghanistan with NO WAY to win TRUMP DID NOT STARTED IT BUSH DID AND OBAMA FOLLOWED THE AGENDA
    Sorry fake new you should be fair & balance intead of doing “Perception Management ” for the Democrats and their Intelligence agencies handlers
    Good night and Good Luck .

    1. Eileen Kuch says

      Tell it, Reynald Deschamps! Tell it!!

  5. junktex says

    How many times did that make that we killed Baghdadi?lol

  6. CHUCKMAN says

    Syria has nothing to do with oil. And never did.

    That’s just a welcome subterfuge for a chowder-headed President who actually enjoys being credited with theft.

    Rather than complete subservience to Israel.

    1. arnieus says

      I think it is both. The occupied Golan Heights has lots of oil coveted by the Israeli company Genie Oil. That company is run by neocon luminaries like Dick Cheney. The greater Israel Yinon plan calls for the “fracturing” of the countries around Israel where they want to steal more land. Also keeping some US presence in the middle east is a continuing attempt to enforce the petro-dollar arrangement without which the value of dollars would fall. I’m not sure what chowder-head is thinking but US military in Syria is indefensible and opposed by literally every country on Earth.

  7. JustPassingThrough says

    “There is nothing to gain by staying in Syria and a great deal to lose.”
    all depends on whether you an antisemitic khazarian or not.

    1. michael houston says

      what!!!!???

  8. thomas malthaus says

    “Moreover, even if there were a legal basis, there is so little oil involved that there is no strategic benefit to our country in light of the substantial risks.”

    The qualification that the US is the world’s number one oil exporter is false. In fact, some analyses I’ve read says we’ve only two years of domestic supply if the foreign taps were turned off.

    No, of course we’ve no need for Syria’s oil. Or Iraqi oil.

    1. GAguidestones says

      Maybe not, but the Ashkenazim in the area do.

  9. Séamus Ó Néill says

    “Following the highly successful raid to take down ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi”

    “In March 2018, after it had become clear the U.S. and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were successful in their efforts to drive ISIS out of their so-called capital Raqqa, Syria”

    “will not support or be involved in the operation, and United States forces, having defeated the ISIS territorial ‘Caliphate,’ will no longer be in the immediate area.”

    Do we, as intelligent people, have to suffer this inane dribble. Everyone, even the dogs in the street know who created ISIS, who armed and paid ISIS and who still looks after ISIS. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was never anywhere near Idlib, possibly the worst place in Syria, in terms of his safety ( home to a different and opposing terrorist faction ). He’s alive and well, probably living it up in Israel or in America’s “green zone” in Iraq. As for the ” securing Syrian oil having no basis in International law “, the whole American criminal escapade in Syria is illegal and a war crime under International law.

    1. Curmudgeon_49 says

      Not only that, the evil Russians played a bigger role in “defeating” ISIS than the US did.

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