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US military personnel and defense officials are expressing anger and dismay at the way the Trump administration is handling the situation in Syria.
The failure of the administration to support the Kurds who have been U.S. allies in the fight against ISIS has many calling Trump’s decision a betrayal. One senior U.S. defense official spoke of the Turkish advancement into the country with CNN saying the Syrian Democratic Forces “are fighting a force that intends to eliminate their people because we green lighted their operation.”
History will forever show that it was Donald J. Trump who enabled and empowered the slaughter of the Kurdish people, allies of the United States.
The blood of the Kurds is on the hands of President Trump and the Republican Party that continues to support him.
— Travis Akers (@travisakers) October 9, 2019
Vice President Mike Pence spoke to reporters at the White House where he discussed Trump’s call with Turkish President Erdogan. Pence claims that Trump was “direct” and made it clear that “the United States of America wants Turkey to stop the invasion.”
Pence also said that Trump offered to mediate discussions between Erdogan and the Syrian Defense Forces and that he would be sending Pence to Turkey to lead a delegation in the “immediate future.”
Critics are calling Trump’s big words “too little, too late” because it will be near impossible to monitor and enforce a Turkish ceasefire now that US troops have been withdrawn from the area.
American soldiers “feel sick” about the abandonment of people who stood and fought beside them. They think it is disgraceful:
"What do these American soldiers feel as they watch Trump retreat from the Syrian battlefield and leave their former comrades to die? They feel sick." https://t.co/T7MX7RMMvu
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) October 15, 2019
Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy addressed the discontent on Monday:
“I like candor. It’s important to have that. Obviously, you don’t want to have disobedience, but you, it’s definitely, they have to have opinions. Everybody has opinions, you have a war of ideas, but ultimately that they, when national policy decisions are made, we salute and move out.”
Even Trump’s staunch supporters disagree with his methods. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) called the decision “the biggest mistake of his presidency.” Graham even went so far as to join with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to discuss congressional action:
Pleased to have a conversation with Senator @LindseyGrahamSC this morning. Our first order of business was to agree that we must have a bipartisan, bicameral joint resolution to overturn the President’s dangerous decision in Syria immediately.
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) October 14, 2019
Just spoke with Speaker Pelosi regarding congressional action on Turkey’s incursion of Syria. Speaker supports bipartisan sanctions against Turkey’s outrages in Syria. She also believes we should show support for Kurdish allies and is concerned about the reemergence of ISIS.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) October 14, 2019
“Adversity makes strange bedfellows.”
