Trump orders US troops to withdraw from Syria in 4 months
The US President said troops will withdraw "gradually" from Syria instead of the 30-day deadline he previously announced.
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| US President Donald Trump. Photo:Politico. |
"If anyone other than Donald Trump had done what I did in Syria, which was an ISIS mess when I took office, they would be a national hero," US President Donald Trump posted on Twitter.Twitteron December 31, referring to the acronym for the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS). "IS is nearly defeated, and we are gradually returning our soldiers to their families, while continuing to fight the remnants of IS."
The New York Times reported that Trump would give the military about four months to withdraw troops from Syria, despite his earlier 30-day withdrawal order. During a trip to Iraq last week, Trump also told Lieutenant General Paul J. LaCamera, commander of US forces in Syria, that the military would have several months to withdraw.
Trump announced in early December that he had ordered the withdrawal of about 2,000 US troops from Syria because IS had been defeated. The decision prompted Defense Secretary James Mattis to resign. Mattis reportedly tried to dissuade Trump from ordering the withdrawal.
The decision also sparked a bipartisan backlash from lawmakers in Congress, including some close Trump allies like Sen. Lindsey Graham. However, Graham said on December 30 that he felt “more comfortable” about Syria after lunch with the President. According to Graham, Trump changed his decision to withdraw troops “immediately” to reassess the situation on the ground.
In addition to Syria, Trump also announced that he would withdraw half of the 14,000 US troops currently deployed in Afghanistan. The White House and the Pentagon have not yet announced specific plans to withdraw troops from Syria and Afghanistan.
