Trump Defends Decision to Withdraw from Syria Following Two Resignations and Negative Reactions

Shortly after the resignation of the U.S. Secretary of Defense and just hours after the U.S. representative to the international coalition against ISIS also resigned, Donald Trump stood firm on his decision to withdraw American forces from Syria and defended it. On December 22, Trump tweeted that American troops were not supposed to stay in Syria for more than three months. He stated, 'We were supposed to be in Syria for three months, and that was seven years ago.' He added, 'We never left [Syria]. When I became President, ISIS was rampant.' The U.S. President asserted, 'Now that ISIS has been largely defeated, regional countries, including Turkey, will easily be able to deal with the remnants. We are coming home.' Trump's reference to seven years ago seems to point to 2011, when the Syrian civil war began. U.S. forces were deployed to Syria in 2015 to combat ISIS. In the Syrian civil war, Turkey and several other regional countries have supported various rebel groups, which do not necessarily align with each other. The U.S. and the coalition formed against ISIS have also supported several groups in battles against the 'Islamic State.' There has been a longstanding disagreement between Ankara and Washington over support for mainly Kurdish rebels in northern Syria. Iran and Russia are also the main supporters of Bashar al-Assad's regime. Hours after his initial tweets about Syria, Trump tweeted about Jim Mattis, the Secretary of Defense, and Brett McGurk, the U.S. representative in the global coalition against ISIS, who have both resigned. Trump wrote about Mattis: 'When President [Barack] Obama rudely fired Jim Mattis, I gave him a second chance. Some thought I shouldn’t [have done that], I thought I should. Interesting relationship - but at the same time, I gave him all the resources he actually didn’t have. Allies are very important, but not when they take advantage of the United States.' General Mattis commanded the 'Central Command' from 2010 to 2013 during Obama's presidency, overseeing U.S. operations in the Middle East. The Washington Post had previously reported that various disagreements with Obama, including how to deal with Iran and its allies, the number of American troops in Iraq, or other issues, led to his early retirement. Trump also mentioned that he does not know Brett McGurk, who was appointed by Obama in 2015 and was supposed to leave the position in February but resigned before leaving. In another tweet, Trump again criticized media outlets that he claims spread 'fake news,' stating: 'If anyone other than your favorite President, Donald Trump, would have announced that he was bringing the military back home after heavy losses to ISIS (safe and sound), that person would be the most popular hero in America. But I am attacked by the Fake News Media.' The latest tweets from the U.S. President came just hours after the resignation of Brett McGurk, the U.S. representative in the global coalition against the so-called 'Islamic State.' This resignation follows the resignation of Jim Mattis, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, and all these events come after the U.S. President announced on Twitter that he would withdraw the U.S. military from Syria, with reports indicating that American forces would leave Syria within 60 to 100 days. In his resignation letter, Mattis stated that since it is the President's right to have a Secretary of Defense aligned with his views, he decided to resign. According to American media reports, Brett McGurk wrote in his resignation letter that ISIS has not yet been defeated and that an early withdrawal of American forces would allow the group to re-emerge. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a supporter of Trump, stated: 'When America leaves Syria, we are simply handing that country over to Russia and Iran, especially Iran.' However, Trump stated that America does not want to be the police of the Middle East and that 'the governments of Russia, Iran, and Syria are not happy about the withdrawal of U.S. troops because they now have to fight ISIS and other enemies without our help.' The U.S. President's decision to withdraw American forces from Syria has faced reactions both inside and outside the U.S. Free Europe, Twitter, Radio Farda | In this context, the U.S. 'is planning for a complete and rapid withdrawal of its forces from Syria.' Washington's allies criticized the U.S. decision to withdraw from Syria; Putin welcomed it. Erdogan welcomed the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria, stating it would delay Turkey's operations against Syrian Kurds. The U.S. representative in the global coalition against ISIS resigned.