{"id":39367,"date":"2019-10-18T14:46:50","date_gmt":"2019-10-18T14:46:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/10\/18\/trumps-syria-ceasefire-could-make-the-middle-east-less-safe-lawmakers-say\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:51:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:51:31","slug":"trumps-syria-ceasefire-could-make-the-middle-east-less-safe-lawmakers-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/10\/18\/trumps-syria-ceasefire-could-make-the-middle-east-less-safe-lawmakers-say\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s Syria \u2018ceasefire\u2019 could make the Middle East less safe, lawmakers say"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2015 Top congressional Democrats \u2015 and two high-profile Republican senators \u2015 panned the U.S.-brokered deal<\/a> in which President Donald Trump agreed to drop sanctions against NATO ally Turkey if it would pause its military offensive in Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though Trump called the the U.S.-brokered deal that went into effect overnight \u201ca great day for civilization,\u201d most of the shine seemed to come off as details revealed the deal heavily favored Turkey. Lawmakers from both parties criticized it as a non-solution to the wider crisis, and fighting between Turkey and Kurdish forces continued<\/a> Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though some of Trump\u2019s allies hailed<\/a> the administration\u2019s agreement, Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio suggested in a series of tweets that it had only deepened America\u2019s dilemma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What would happen, Rubio asked, if Turkey came under attack from Iranian-aligned militias, the government of Syrian leader Bashar Assad or Russian forces in the region, thus invoking NATO\u2019s mutual self-defense clause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond that, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan \u201cgot everything he wanted\u201d from the \u201csupposed \u2018ceasefire,\u201d Rubio said. \u201cSparing lives is always good news. But doesn\u2019t appear \u2018cease-fire\u2019 signals change in Erdogan\u2019s goal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vice President Mike Pence struck the deal with Erdogan in Ankara on Thursday. It requires Kurdish YPG forces to vacate a swath of territory in Syria along the Turkish border in exchange for Turkey pausing its offensive into northern Syria for 120 hours \u2015 and then halt the fighting once the evacuation is complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in a Politico interview<\/a>, forcefully defended the agreement, brushed back accusations that the Kurds were sold out and said that despite reports of fighting Friday, he is \u201cconfident\u201d a pause in violence will take hold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump has been widely criticized<\/a> for abruptly declaring U.S. troops would step aside for an expected Turkish attack on the Kurds<\/a>, who had taken heavy casualties as partners with the U.S. in fighting Islamic State militants<\/a> since 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Wednesday, 129 House Republicans voted with 225 Democrats to pass a resolution condemning the decision<\/a>. In a joint statement Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Trump is \u201cflailing\u201d and that the deal was a \u201csham ceasefire.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe President\u2019s decision to reverse sanctions against Turkey for brutally attacking our Kurdish partners in exchange for a sham ceasefire seriously undermines the credibility of America\u2019s foreign policy and sends a dangerous message to our allies and adversaries alike that our word cannot be trusted,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S.-brokered agreement, they added, would not address the possibility of ISIS members help in Kurdish-run prisons from escaping \u201cand shows the President\u2019s complete lack of strategy to defeat ISIS.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo say that Turkey and Syria will guard the prisoners is outrageous and puts our homeland security at risk,\u201d they said. \u201cISIS is still a threat, certainly now more than before President Trump gave Erdogan the green light to invade Syria.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, called the agreement \u201cfar from a victory\u201d and asked why its terms were not negotiated before Trump consented to withdraw U.S. troops. He also questioned why the White House did not consult Congress in advance on such an important matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGiven the initial details of the cease-fire agreement, the administration must also explain what America\u2019s future role will be in the region, what happens now to the Kurds and why Turkey will face no apparent consequences,\u201d said Romney, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. \u201cWhat we have done to the Kurds will stand as a blood stain in the annals of American history.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement Thursday, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., said Trump shouldn\u2019t get credit for trying to fix a problem of his own making. Engel and the panel\u2019s top Republican are sponsoring sanctions legislation against Turkey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe immediate cause of this crisis was President Trump\u2019s betrayal of our Kurdish partners, which set into motion a humanitarian crisis, a resurgence of ISIS, a strategic victory for Russia and Iran, and irreparable damage to America\u2019s standing in the world,\u201d Engel said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Just spoke with President @realDonaldTrump<\/a> from AF1 about developments in Turkey\/Syria.

I appreciate @VP<\/a> Pence and @SecPompeo<\/a>\u2019s hard work to try to achieve a cease-fire and to create sustainable solutions caused by Turkey\u2019s invasion of Syria.<\/p>— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) October 17, 2019<\/a><\/blockquote>