Trump Defends Syria Decision Amid Backlash From Lawmakers, Fresh Praise From Putin

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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.

Some of the most persistent criticism of Trump’s move came Thursday from Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.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.

As Trump was tweeting from the White House, Putin, at his annual year-end news conference, said the Islamic State has suffered “serious blows” in Syria and praised Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. forces.

“On this, Donald is right. I agree with him,” Putin said.

 (c) 2018, The Washington Post · John Wagner   

{Matzav.com}


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