{"id":135840,"date":"2019-02-05T16:34:07","date_gmt":"2019-02-05T16:34:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/02\/05\/centcom-chief-says-trump-did-not-consult-him-on-syria-withdrawal-declaration\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:04:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:04:49","slug":"centcom-chief-says-trump-did-not-consult-him-on-syria-withdrawal-declaration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/home\/middle-column\/2019\/02\/05\/centcom-chief-says-trump-did-not-consult-him-on-syria-withdrawal-declaration\/","title":{"rendered":"CENTCOM chief says Trump did not consult him on Syria withdrawal declaration"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 As President Donald Trump is expected<\/a> to call for an end America\u2019s ongoing wars overseas, his top general in the Mideast said he was not consulted or warned Trump would declare<\/a> a U.S. troop withdrawal from Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I was not aware of the specific announcement. Certainly we were aware that he had expressed a desire and intent,\u201d to leave, Gen. Joseph Votel, who leads U.S. Central Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, adding: “I was not consulted.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump abruptly tweeted plans for a U.S. pullout from Syria in December, arguing that the Islamic State group had been defeated even though his intelligence chiefs have said it remains a threat. Trump also ordered the military to develop plans to remove up to half of the 14,000 U.S. forces in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hours before Trump was expected to discuss a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria and Afghanistan in his State of the Union address, Votel told the panel that the fight against the Islamic State is \u201cnot over\u201d and characterized peace talks in Afghanistan as \u201cearly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe fight against ISIS and violent extremists is not over and our mission has not changed,\u201d Votel said. \u201cThe coalition\u2019s hard-won battlefield gains can only be secured by maintaining a vigilant offensive against a now largely dispersed and disaggregated ISIS that retains leaders, fighters, facilitators and a profane ideology that fuels their efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Votel said the Islamic State occupies less than 20 miles of territory and has about 20,000 to 30,000 fighters, adding, \u201cWe don\u2019t fully know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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U.S. Central Command Commander Gen. Joseph Votel speaks at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Andrew Harnik)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lawmakers on the panel expressed skepticism, as Chairman Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., said the Islamic State and al-Qaida are still active in the region, and that \u201cwhen our military pulls back, Russia pulls forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise, SASC ranking member, Sen. Jack Reed said administration\u2019s \u201ccontradictory statements\u201d on a Syria withdrawal, \u201cunderscore that this decision was anything but thoughtful and deliberate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBringing our troops home should always be our objective, but it must be done in a deliberate and well-thought-out manner in concert with our partners and allies,\u201d Reed, D-R.I., said of Syria and Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lawmakers on the committee worried that ISIS fighters will wait out the U.S., and when asked for the strategy to maintain pressure and protect Kurdish forces who battled the Islamic State alongside the U.S., Votel reassured lawmakers both were priorities. However, he said he would discuss specifics in a closed session with the panel, planned for Tuesday afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. is seeking to broker an agreement that prevents Turkey from following through on its threats to launch a full-scale military offensive against Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria. Turkey sees the forces as an offshoot of Kurdish rebels inside Turkey.<\/p>\n\n\n\t