Lawmakers Blast Trump's 'Obama-Like Move' to Pull US Troops From Syria 

Jenna Browder
12-20-2018

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WASHINGTON – With a single tweet, President Trump appeared to blindside advisers, congressional supporters and GOP allies when he announced it's time to pull US troops out of Syria. The surprise move comes at a crucial time when Russia and Iran are getting stronger and seeking more influence in the region.

The president said the US has defeated ISIS, which was his goal, and that it's time for the 2,000 US troops to come home. 

Now some of his closest allies are pushing back. 

"If this decision is a withdrawal of all of our forces in Syria now, we're dramatically less safe," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told reporters. "This is an Obama-like move." 

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) also criticized the decision, calling it a "grave error" and telling reporters ISIS is not defeated despite Trump's declaration. 

The decision goes against recent statements made by administration officials that the mission against ISIS is not complete. 

"If we've learned one thing over the years, ensuring defeat of a group like this means you can't just defeat their physical space and then leave," diplomat Brett McGurnk said days before Trump's announcement. "You have to make sure the internal security forces are in place to ensure that those security gains are enduring." 

CBN News Senior International Correspondent Gary Lane says ISIS still has 20-to-30,000 fighters inside Syria.  

"This president believes that ISIS has been defeated, at least with the caliphate there's no capital in Raqqa, Syria, anymore," explained Lane on CBN's NewsWatch. "They don't hold massive amounts of territory there, maybe just a small area in the eastern part of Syria near the Iraqi border, so he feels they have been defeated, but they really haven't been defeated as far as numbers." 

Not everyone disagrees with the president though, including Sen. Rand Paul ( R-KY). 

"We've been at war for too long," Paul told reporters. "I commend the president for his decision." 

Others compare the move to former President Barack Obama's decision to prematurely pull out of Iraq, which led to the rise of ISIS. It could also weaken US influence in the region. 

Andrew Gabel with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told CBN's Faith Nation pulling out will weaken US leverage in dealing with Syria, Turkey, Russia and Iran, leaving a vacuum waiting to be filled. 

"And then you're looking at a situation in which Iran functionally controls territory from the west border of Afghanistan all the way to Mediterranean Sea," said Gabel. 

The pullout will also hurt US allies like the Kurds and democratic Syrian forces who fought alongside US troops against ISIS. 

Trump spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan before announcing the decision. Wednesday the administration also announced a $3.5 billion arms sale to Turkey. 

The administration aims to have all the troops home by mid-January. 

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About The Author

Jenna
Browder

Jenna Browder co-hosts Faith Nation and is a network correspondent for CBN News. She has interviewed many prominent national figures from both sides of the political aisle, including presidents, cabinet secretaries, lawmakers, and other high-ranking officials. Jenna grew up in the small mountain town of Gunnison, Colorado and graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder, where she studied journalism. Her first TV jobs were at CBS affiliates in Cheyenne, Wyoming and Monroe, Louisiana where she anchored the nightly news. She came to Washington, D.C. in 2016. Getting to cover that year's
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