{"id":37618,"date":"2018-12-20T14:25:46","date_gmt":"2018-12-20T14:25:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/12\/20\/lawmakers-baffled-by-trumps-decision-to-pull-troops-out-of-syria\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T07:46:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T07:46:09","slug":"lawmakers-baffled-by-trumps-decision-to-pull-troops-out-of-syria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2018\/12\/20\/lawmakers-baffled-by-trumps-decision-to-pull-troops-out-of-syria\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawmakers tell Trump his decision to pull troops out of Syria is a \u2018costly mistake\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers reacted with disbelief over President Donald Trump\u2019s sudden decision this week to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2018\/12\/19\/trumps-syria-withdrawal-flies-in-the-face-of-statements-from-top-military-and-national-security-leaders\/\" target=\"_blank\">withdraw all U.S. military forces from Syria<\/a>, expressing concern that the move could be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/2018\/12\/19\/us-troops-are-leaving-but-isis-is-not-defeated-in-syria\/\" target=\"_blank\">a dangerous strategic mistake<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Just hours after the president released a video stating that \u201cwe have won against ISIS,\u201d a bipartisan group of Senate Armed Services Committee members <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LindseyGrahamSC\/status\/1075578496733364226\" target=_blank>released a letter<\/a> pleading with him to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2018\/12\/19\/a-look-at-us-involvement-in-syrias-civil-war\/\" target=_blank>reconsider his stance<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSuch action at this time is a premature and costly mistake that not only threatens the safety and security of the United States but also emboldens ISIS, (Syrian leader) Bashar al Assad, Iran and Russia,\u201d the letter said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf you decide to follow through with your decision to pull our troops out of Syria, any remnants of ISIS in Syria will surely renew and embolden their efforts in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2018\/12\/19\/troops-may-immediately-withdrawal-from-syria-as-trump-declares-victory-over-isis\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4815095.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Troops to immediately withdraw from Syria as Trump declares victory over ISIS<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Pentagon officials did not immediately confirm reports that Trump has ordered a total withdrawal of troops.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The group was led by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and a staunch defender of Trump in recent months. However, on this move, he blasted Trump, leveling the same criticisms he used against former President Barack Obama when he withdrew U.S. forces from Iraq after that war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI fear it will lead to devastating consequences for our nation, the region, and throughout the world,\u201d he said on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member Jack Reed, D-R.I., called the \u201chasty, disjoined\u201d withdrawal announcement \u201cfurther evidence of President Trump\u2019s inability to lead on the world stage.\u201d He criticized the president for ignoring assessments from his own staff in making the decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cJust because President Trump tweets that he has defeated ISIS doesn\u2019t make us safer, especially when the reality is very different on the ground,\u201d he said. \u201cThe president continues to disregard the advice of his military, diplomatic, and intelligence personnel who have consistently warned against the action the president seems poised to take.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Senior administration officials have downplayed the suddenness of the move, arguing that Trump\u2019s antipathy towards U.S. military involvement in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/04\/06\/trump-wants-out-of-syria-but-dont-say-timeline\/\" target=_blank>Syria has been well known<\/a> since his presidential campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But both military and State Department leaders \u2014 many of whom in recent days had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-air-force\/2018\/09\/25\/the-white-house-just-revealed-massive-mission-creep-in-syria-heres-why\/\" target=_blank>downplayed the chances of a full withdrawal<\/a> of forces from the region \u2014 appeared caught off guard by the commander in chief\u2019s decision, adding to the frustration on Capitol Hill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and the incoming chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said he was \u201cdeeply concerned that the President is making yet another abrupt decision, with seemingly little input or consultation with military and intelligence officials.\u201d He promised a full review of the move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., went even further in his criticism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Eight days ago the administration called a hypothetical pullout \u2018reckless.\u2019 Today, we&#8217;re leaving,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe president&#8217;s generals have no idea where this weak decision came from: They believe the high-fiving winners today are Iran, ISIS and Hezbollah. The losers are Israel, humanitarian victims and U.S. intelligence gathering. A lot of American allies will be slaughtered if this retreat is implemented.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">White House and Pentagon officials have not confirmed a timeline for withdrawal, although multiple media sources have quoted defense officials as saying they have been instructed to move quickly on bringing troops home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One lawmaker who offered faint praise for the move was Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., and an outspoken opponent of multiple U.S. overseas combat operations. She signaled support for the move helping to \u201cbring these endless wars to a close\u201d but also criticized how the withdrawal is being handled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAs we draw down our military role in Syria, the U.S. must redouble our diplomatic negotiations to broker peace in the region,\u201d she said. \u201cPresident Trump should not be celebrating walking away from a humanitarian crisis, especially one that the United States helped create.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I found someone who is supportive of the decision to retreat from <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/Syria?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Syria<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/SlNs9hrXLG\">https:\/\/t.co\/SlNs9hrXLG<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/marcorubio\/status\/1075510390929416193?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 19, 2018<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">But wait a minute&#8230;I thought we defeated ISIS. Why would Russia, Iran and Syria have to fight them if they\u2019re defeated? <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/11yhModJOE\">https:\/\/t.co\/11yhModJOE<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Chris Murphy \ud83d\udfe7 (@ChrisMurphyCT) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ChrisMurphyCT\/status\/1075737010407698433?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 20, 2018<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">President Trump appears to have 2 kinds of advisors, those that are indicted and those that are ignored. <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/SyriaWithdrawal?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#SyriaWithdrawal<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/clairecmc\/status\/1075738309480079362?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 20, 2018<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Both Republicans and Democrats criticized the move, saying it ignores advice from military and intelligence leaders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":80626,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":8,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[8,160,36,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3424],"class_list":["post-37618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-congress","category-daily-news-roundup","category-newsletters","category-pentagon"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"TPUKGTQFCFD2JLDJ2EJYG37YTU","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/12\/20\/lawmakers-baffled-by-trumps-decision-to-pull-troops-out-of-syria\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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