{"id":48670,"date":"2018-12-31T20:17:49","date_gmt":"2018-12-31T20:17:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/12\/31\/timetable-of-trumps-pullout-from-syria-being-questioned\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T06:36:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T06:36:06","slug":"timetable-of-trumps-pullout-from-syria-being-questioned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/12\/31\/timetable-of-trumps-pullout-from-syria-being-questioned\/","title":{"rendered":"Timetable of Trump\u2019s pullout from Syria being questioned"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 Amid questions about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2018\/12\/19\/troops-may-immediately-withdrawal-from-syria-as-trump-declares-victory-over-isis\/\" target=_blank>the pace of his exit from Syria<\/a>, President Donald Trump complained on Monday that he\u2019s getting \u201cbad press\u201d for his decision to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2018\/12\/24\/mattis-signs-order-to-withdraw-us-troops-from-syria\/\" target=_blank>pull American troops out of the country<\/a> and insisted he was simply making good on his campaign promise against U.S. involvement in \u201cnever ending wars.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump abruptly announced in mid-December that he was withdrawing 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria. The decision was roundly criticized by his national security advisers and Democratic and Republican lawmakers, several of whom asked him to reconsider. It prompted <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/12\/20\/mattis-out-defense-secretary-says-his-views-no-longer-aligned-with-trump\/\" target=_blank>Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to step down,<\/a> and t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2018\/12\/23\/trump-triggers-another-resignation-after-sudden-syria-policy-shift\/\" target=_blank>he U.S. envoy to the coalition fighting Islamic State militants resigned in protest<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump fought back against the criticism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;I am the only person in America who could say that, &#8216;I&#8217;m bringing our great troops back home, with victory,&#8217; and get BAD press,&#8221; Trump tweeted Monday. &#8220;It is Fake News and Pundits who have FAILED for years that are doing the complaining. If I stayed in Endless Wars forever, they would still be unhappy!&#8221;<\/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\/trumps-syria-withdrawal-flies-in-the-face-of-statements-from-top-military-and-national-security-leaders\/\" 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_18296822940376.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 Syria withdrawal flies in the face of statements from top military and national security leaders<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Many top officials see the current Syria operations as necessary to ensure ISIS defeat.<\/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\">Critics not only warn of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/2018\/12\/19\/us-troops-are-leaving-but-isis-is-not-defeated-in-syria\/\" target=\"_blank\">a resurgence of ISIS<\/a>, but worry that the American exit is a betrayal of U.S.-backed Kurdish forces in Syria and leaves them vulnerable to an attack from Turkish forces. Turkey considers the U.S.-backed Kurdish People\u2019s Protection Units, which now controls nearly 30 percent of Syria, a terrorist group linked to an insurgency within its own borders. Other critics feared an abrupt withdrawal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/12\/31\/graham-says-trump-slowing-down-planned-withdrawal-of-us-forces-from-syria\/\" target=\"_blank\">Sen. Lindsey Graham<\/a>, R-S.C., a Trump backer and leading voice on national security and foreign affairs on Capitol Hill, had lunch with the president on Sunday and emerged from the White House saying that Trump was slowing down the withdrawal from Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;I think we&#8217;re in a pause situation where we&#8217;re re-evaluating what&#8217;s the best way to achieve the president&#8217;s objective of having people pay more and do more,&#8221; Graham said. &#8220;The pause is to assess the effects of the conditions on the ground.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;I think we&#8217;re slowing things down in a smart way,&#8221; Graham said, adding that Trump was very aware of the plight of the Kurds.<\/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\/2018\/12\/31\/graham-says-trump-slowing-down-planned-withdrawal-of-us-forces-from-syria\/\" 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=\"214\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18364753077433.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\">Graham says Trump slowing down planned withdrawal of US forces from Syria<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">President Donald Trump has ordered a slowdown to the withdrawal of U.S. forces in Syria, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said Sunday.<\/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\">Graham said his meeting with Trump was reassuring. &#8220;The president will make sure any withdrawal from Syria will be done in a fashion to ensure 1) ISIS is permanently destroyed, 2) Iran doesn&#8217;t fill in the back end, and 3) our Kurdish allies are protected,&#8221; Graham tweeted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The National Security Council at the White House declined to answer questions about whether the president was re-evaluating or whether he was slowing his timetable for pulling troops out. The White House referred questions to the Pentagon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When he announced he was pulling troops from Syria, Trump said the withdrawal would be rapid. On Monday, he said he was \u201cslowly\u201d pulling troops out. Initially, Trump said ISIS had been destroyed in Syria. Now he said the militant group is \u201cmostly done,\u201d although the network, with its hard-line extremist ideology, continues to inspire sympathizers and has affiliated groups in other parts of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;If anybody but Donald Trump did what I did in Syria, which was an ISIS loaded mess when I became President, they would be a national hero. ISIS is mostly gone, we&#8217;re slowly sending our troops back home to be with their families, while at the same time fighting ISIS remnants,&#8221; Trump tweeted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;I campaigned on getting out of Syria and other places. Now when I start getting out the Fake News Media, or some failed Generals who were unable to do the job before I arrived, like to complain about me &amp; my tactics, which are working. Just doing what I said I was going to do!&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18364855735795.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-54956\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18364855735795.jpg.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18364855735795.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18364855735795.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18364855735795.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In this Dec. 21, 2018, file photo, President Donald Trump makes a statement on the possible government shutdown before signing criminal just reform legislation in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington. (Evan Vucci\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That tweet seemed aimed at rebutting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/12\/30\/former-afghanistan-commander-mcchrystal-warns-of-plans-to-cut-troops\/\" target=_blank>comments by Stanley McChrystal,<\/a> a retired U.S. Army four-star general who commanded the Joint Special Operations Command in the mid-2000s and formerly commanded U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;If you pull American influence out, you&#8217;re likely to have greater instability, and of course it&#8217;ll be much more difficult for the United States to try to push events in any direction. There is an argument that says we just pull up our stuff, go home, let the region run itself. That has not done well for the last 50 or 60 years,&#8221; McChrystal said Sunday on ABC&#8217;s &#8220;This Week.&#8221;<\/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\/2018\/12\/21\/us-troops-to-withdraw-from-syrian-base-near-iraq-jordan-that-has-riled-russia\/\" 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\/ARM-syria-troops-web.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\">US troops to withdraw from Syrian base near Iraq, Jordan that has riled Russia<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">On at least two occasions, the coalition shot down Iranian Shaheed-129 drones in the vicinity of the Tanf garrison.<\/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\">Critics also contended that the U.S. withdrawal would embolden Iran and Russia, which have supported the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">National security adviser John Bolton was expected to travel to Israel and Turkey next weekend to discuss the president\u2019s plans with the American allies. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on New Year\u2019s Day at the inauguration of the new president of Brazil in Brasilia.<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Amid questions about the pace of his exit from Syria, President Donald Trump complained on Monday that he\u2019s getting \u201cbad press\u201d for his decision to pull American troops out of the country and insisted he was simply making good on his campaign promise against U.S. involvement in \u201cnever ending wars.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":54954,"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":10,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"4":{"categories":["flashpoints","your-air-force","news","pentagon-congress","daily-news-roundup","newsletters","left-column","home"],"primary_category":"flashpoints"},"5":{"categories":["flashpoints","your-army","news","pentagon-congress","daily-news-roundup","newsletters","left-column","home"],"primary_category":"flashpoints"},"6":{"categories":["flashpoints","your-marine-corps","news","pentagon-congress","daily-news-roundup","newsletters","left-column","home"],"primary_category":"flashpoints"},"7":{"categories":["flashpoints","your-navy","news","pentagon-congress","daily-news-roundup","newsletters","home","middle-column"],"primary_category":"flashpoints"}}},"categories":[10,29,116,117,15,86,88],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3177],"class_list":["post-48670","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-flashpoints","category-home","category-left-column","category-middle-column","category-news","category-pentagon-congress","category-your-military"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"2OWA6PDBLVDQXKJX6ARQOAPVWE","arc_canonical_url":"\/flashpoints\/2018\/12\/31\/timetable-of-trumps-pullout-from-syria-being-questioned\/","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>Timetable of Trump\u2019s pullout from Syria being questioned - Military Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Amid questions about the pace of his exit from Syria, President Donald Trump complained on Monday that he\u2019s getting \u201cbad press\u201d for his decision to pull American troops out of the country and insisted he was simply making good on his campaign promise against U.S. involvement in \u201cnever ending wars.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/12\/31\/timetable-of-trumps-pullout-from-syria-being-questioned\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta 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