{"id":47426,"date":"2019-10-16T16:34:22","date_gmt":"2019-10-16T16:34:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/10\/16\/trump-says-us-troops-are-totally-safe-amid-growing-chaos-in-syria\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T14:53:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T14:53:26","slug":"trump-says-us-troops-are-totally-safe-amid-growing-chaos-in-syria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2019\/10\/16\/trump-says-us-troops-are-totally-safe-amid-growing-chaos-in-syria\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump says US troops are \u2018totally safe\u2019 amid growing chaos in Syria"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">President Donald Trump declared Wednesday that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2019\/10\/13\/esper-says-us-staying-in-syria-but-withdrawing-south-of-turkish-advance-and-deal-in-works-to-have-russians-protect-kurds\/\" target=\"_blank\">U.S. troops serving in Syria<\/a> are \u201ctotally safe\u201d amid fighting among local military forces thanks to \u201cstrategically brilliant\u201d moves to<a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2019\/10\/14\/us-leaves-behind-dozens-of-high-value-isis-detainees-as-turkey-rolls-through-syria\/\" target=\"_blank\"> pull back American assets in recent days<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey have a problem at the border. It\u2019s not our border. We shouldn\u2019t be losing lives over it,\u201d Trump said about the situation in Syria during an Oval Office press event. \u201cWe only had 28 soldiers \u2026 and they are fully accounted for. We\u2019re watching and negotiating and trying to get Turkey to do the right thing, because we would like to stop wars regardless.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump\u2019s comments came ahead of a meeting between Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Turkish President Erdogan later today designed to calm tensions in the region, heightened since Turkish forces <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/2019\/10\/14\/the-end-of-an-era-60000-strong-us-trained-sdf-partner-force-crumbles-in-a-week-under-heavy-turkish-assault\/\" target=\"_blank\">began a military assault a week ago<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ahead of that, Trump announced plans to pull back U.S. military personnel in the region to avoid getting caught up in a regional conflict.<\/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\/flashpoints\/2019\/10\/16\/fearing-us-abandonment-kurds-kept-back-channels-wide-open\/\" 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=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1175595911.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\">Fearing American abandonment, Kurds kept back channels to Damascus, Moscow wide open<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">When Syria\u2019s Kurdish fighters, America\u2019s longtime battlefield allies against the Islamic State, announced over the weekend that they were switching sides and joining up with Damascus and Moscow, it seemed like a moment of geopolitical whiplash.<\/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 move has drawn widespread criticism from lawmakers, former military leaders and outside defense experts, who said it amounted to abandoning Kurdish allies in the region who had worked closely with American forces in the fight against the Islamic State group. The White House has announced sanctions against Turkey for the military aggression, and Congress is considering further restrictions this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While Trump said the U.S. withdrawal from the disputed border towns amounted to only \u201c28 soldiers\u201d assisting Kurdish military units, other U.S. military assets remain in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe have quite a contingent right nearby of soldiers and the finest equipment in the world. I don\u2019t think we\u2019ll have to use it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re not going to be fighting, we don\u2019t want to be fighting. I don\u2019t think there is any reason to anyway. \u2026 If Syria wants to fight for their land, that\u2019s up to Turkey and Syria, as it has been for hundreds of years. For hundreds of years they have been fighting, as have been the Kurds. It\u2019s a mess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey have a lot of sand over there. There is a lot of sand they can play with.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump also downplayed concerns about the safety of Kurdish fighters without U.S. support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe Kurds know how to fight,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re not angels. They fought with us. We paid a lot of money for them to fight with us, and that\u2019s OK. They did well when they fought with us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The commander in chief dismissed concerns that the region conflict could <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airforcetimes.com\/news\/your-air-force\/2019\/10\/14\/with-turkeys-invasion-of-syria-concerns-mount-over-nukes-at-incirlik\/\" target=_blank>complicate work at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey<\/a>, saying that the personnel and equipment there are safe. He also criticized the cost of stationing American troops near conflict zones around the world, saying that the United States needs to step away from such open-ended missions.<\/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\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/10\/16\/trumps-troop-withdrawal-from-syria-draws-criticism-at-latest-democratic-debate\/\" 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=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_19289044618148.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\">Trump\u2019s troop withdrawal from Syria draws criticism at latest Democratic debate<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Presidential hopefuls called the sudden military move a betrayal of U.S. values and security.<\/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\">\u201cIf Turkey goes into Syria, that\u2019s between Turkey and Syria. That\u2019s not between Turkey and the United States, like a lot of stupid people would like you to believe,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe plan is to get out of endless wars, to bring our troops home, to not be policing agents around the world. We\u2019re in 90 counties in one form or another. We\u2019re all over the world policing. And frankly, many of those countries don\u2019t respect what we\u2019re doing, they don\u2019t like what we\u2019re doing. And they don\u2019t like us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump also downplayed concerns that the move could allow Islamic State group fighters to escape from prisons guarded by Kurdish forces and regroup in disputed regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEvery player there hates ISIS. Syria more than us. Russia more than us. They can handle it, they should handle it,\u201d he said. \u201cWe should fight our own battles on our own territories.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The commander in chief said regional fighting there is not America&#8217;s problem or responsibility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":105709,"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-47426","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":"ZEQLNFC3OFFSZF5UMDJYG7W4FE","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/10\/16\/trump-says-us-troops-are-totally-safe-amid-growing-chaos-in-syria\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Trump says US troops are \u2018totally safe\u2019 amid growing chaos in Syria - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The commander in chief said regional fighting there is not America&#039;s problem or responsibility.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trump says US troops are \u2018totally safe\u2019 amid growing chaos in Syria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The commander in chief said regional fighting there is not America&#039;s problem or responsibility.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2019\/10\/16\/trump-says-us-troops-are-totally-safe-amid-growing-chaos-in-syria\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-10-16T16:34:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T14:53:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Leo Shane III\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Leo Shane III\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/16\\\/trump-says-us-troops-are-totally-safe-amid-growing-chaos-in-syria\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/16\\\/trump-says-us-troops-are-totally-safe-amid-growing-chaos-in-syria\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Trump says US troops are \u2018totally safe\u2019 amid growing chaos in Syria\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2019-10-16T16:34:22+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T14:53:26+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/16\\\/trump-says-us-troops-are-totally-safe-amid-growing-chaos-in-syria\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 646,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/16\\\/trump-says-us-troops-are-totally-safe-amid-growing-chaos-in-syria\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP_19289434768722.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Congress\",\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Pentagon\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/16\\\/trump-says-us-troops-are-totally-safe-amid-growing-chaos-in-syria\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/16\\\/trump-says-us-troops-are-totally-safe-amid-growing-chaos-in-syria\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/16\\\/trump-says-us-troops-are-totally-safe-amid-growing-chaos-in-syria\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Trump says US troops are \u2018totally safe\u2019 amid growing chaos in Syria - Defense News\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/16\\\/trump-says-us-troops-are-totally-safe-amid-growing-chaos-in-syria\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/16\\\/trump-says-us-troops-are-totally-safe-amid-growing-chaos-in-syria\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP_19289434768722.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2019-10-16T16:34:22+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T14:53:26+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"The commander in chief said regional fighting there is not America's problem or responsibility.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/16\\\/trump-says-us-troops-are-totally-safe-amid-growing-chaos-in-syria\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/16\\\/trump-says-us-troops-are-totally-safe-amid-growing-chaos-in-syria\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/16\\\/trump-says-us-troops-are-totally-safe-amid-growing-chaos-in-syria\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP_19289434768722.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP_19289434768722.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/16\\\/trump-says-us-troops-are-totally-safe-amid-growing-chaos-in-syria\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Congress\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"congress\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Trump says US troops are \u2018totally safe\u2019 amid growing chaos in Syria\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Defense News\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Trump says US troops are \u2018totally safe\u2019 amid growing chaos in Syria - Defense News","description":"The commander in chief said regional fighting there is not America's problem or responsibility.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Trump says US troops are \u2018totally safe\u2019 amid growing chaos in Syria","og_description":"The commander in chief said regional fighting there is not America's problem or responsibility.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2019\/10\/16\/trump-says-us-troops-are-totally-safe-amid-growing-chaos-in-syria\/","og_site_name":"Defense News","article_published_time":"2019-10-16T16:34:22+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T14:53:26+00:00","author":"Leo Shane III","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Leo Shane III","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2019\/10\/16\/trump-says-us-troops-are-totally-safe-amid-growing-chaos-in-syria\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2019\/10\/16\/trump-says-us-troops-are-totally-safe-amid-growing-chaos-in-syria\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Trump says US troops are \u2018totally safe\u2019 amid growing chaos in Syria","datePublished":"2019-10-16T16:34:22+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T14:53:26+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2019\/10\/16\/trump-says-us-troops-are-totally-safe-amid-growing-chaos-in-syria\/"},"wordCount":646,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2019\/10\/16\/trump-says-us-troops-are-totally-safe-amid-growing-chaos-in-syria\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_19289434768722.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Congress","Daily News Roundup","Newsletters","Pentagon"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2019\/10\/16\/trump-says-us-troops-are-totally-safe-amid-growing-chaos-in-syria\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2019\/10\/16\/trump-says-us-troops-are-totally-safe-amid-growing-chaos-in-syria\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2019\/10\/16\/trump-says-us-troops-are-totally-safe-amid-growing-chaos-in-syria\/","name":"Trump says US troops are \u2018totally safe\u2019 amid growing chaos in Syria - Defense News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2019\/10\/16\/trump-says-us-troops-are-totally-safe-amid-growing-chaos-in-syria\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2019\/10\/16\/trump-says-us-troops-are-totally-safe-amid-growing-chaos-in-syria\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_19289434768722.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2019-10-16T16:34:22+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T14:53:26+00:00","description":"The commander in chief said regional fighting there is not America's problem or responsibility.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2019\/10\/16\/trump-says-us-troops-are-totally-safe-amid-growing-chaos-in-syria\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2019\/10\/16\/trump-says-us-troops-are-totally-safe-amid-growing-chaos-in-syria\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2019\/10\/16\/trump-says-us-troops-are-totally-safe-amid-growing-chaos-in-syria\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_19289434768722.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_19289434768722.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2019\/10\/16\/trump-says-us-troops-are-totally-safe-amid-growing-chaos-in-syria\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Congress","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/","ad_zone":"congress"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Trump says US troops are \u2018totally safe\u2019 amid growing chaos in Syria"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","name":"Defense News","description":"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization","name":"Defense News","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","caption":"Defense News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Defense News","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_19289434768722.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47426"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47426\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47428,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47426\/revisions\/47428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47426"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=47426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}