Posted on 10/09/2019 6:42:09 AM PDT by robowombat
Trump faces growing GOP revolt on Syria BY ALEXANDER BOLTON - 10/09/19 06:00 AM EDT
Trump faces growing GOP revolt on Syria
Republicans are in a full-out revolt against President Trump over his decision to withdraw troops from northern Syria, a move broadly seen as putting the lives of Kurdish allies at risk.
The overwhelming opposition from GOP lawmakers is putting increasing pressure on Trump to reverse course. And it comes at a time when Democrats are moving full steam ahead with an impeachment inquiry.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), one of Trump’s loudest congressional supporters, on Tuesday demanded a senators-only briefing on the Syria move, which he said betrayed the Kurds and would make it tougher for the U.S. to build alliances going forward.
“The President’s decision will have severe consequences for our strategic national interests and reduce American influence in the region while strengthening Turkey, Russia, and Iran,” Graham wrote in a letter also signed by Sen. Christopher Coons (D-Del.). “The decision also dramatically increases the threat to our Kurdish allies, who helped destroy ISIS’s territorial caliphate, and will impair our ability to build strategic alliances in the future.”
Trump’s decision, seen as enabling Turkey to go after Kurds in Syria, was lambasted by Trump loyalists such as Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.), the third-ranking House GOP leader, and Republicans who have differed with the president on policies, such as Sen. Mitt Romney (Utah).
Cheney called the decision a “catastrophic mistake” and Romney characterized it as a “betrayal” of Kurdish allies that would show “America is an unreliable ally.”
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), one of Trump’s most ardent defenders in the Senate, said he agrees with the president that the United States should not be the world’s policeman but warned that “abandoning the Kurds” would send a “terrible signal to America’s allies and adversaries” and would be “unconscionable.
The broad-based backlash left some in the GOP hoping Trump would reverse himself, something Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) on Tuesday raised as a possibility.
“I understand he’s reconsidering. I do not think we should abandon the Kurds,” he told a reporter for Politico.
Senate Republican sources said the Pentagon has warned Turkey not to advance into northern Syria, despite interpretations of Trump’s decision to pull back U.S. forces as a go-ahead signal.
Top Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman on Monday said the Defense Department has “made clear” that “we do not endorse a Turkish operation in Northern Syria.”
The following day, Hoffman disputed reports that Trump made his decision without consultating Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, adding that U.S. troops were repositioned in Syria to ensure their safety.
“Secretary Esper and Chairman Milley were consulted over the last several days by the President regarding the situation and efforts to protect U.S. forces in Northern Syria in the face of military action by Turkey,” Hoffman said in statement.
He said the Defense Department continues to hold the position that “establishing a safe zone in Northern Syria” is the best way to maintain stability.
“Unfortunately, Turkey has chosen to act unilaterally. As a result we have moved the U.S. forces in Northern Syria out of the path of potential Turkish incursion to ensure their safety,” Hoffman said. “We have made no changes to our force presence in Syria at this time.”
Trump, in a set of mixed messages conveyed via Twitter, threatened to retaliate against Turkey if the country goes too far. But he did not specify what kind of action would cross the line.
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BY ORGANIZATION OF IRANIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES “If Turkey does anything that I, in my great and unmatched wisdom, consider to be off limits, I will totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey,” Trump tweeted Monday.
The flurry of events left lawmakers befuddled about Trump’s plan.
“I think there’s a sense of waiting to see what the administration is actually going to do,” said a Senate Republican aide who called the situation “clear as mud.”
GOP aides said Trump’s announcement caught Capitol Hill by surprise and appeared to be made off the cuff after a phone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is now scheduled to visit the White House in mid-November.
Brett McGurk, a former member of Trump’s national security team, told NPR that the president’s sudden decision to withdraw from Syria appeared made “on a haphazard basis after a single call” and called it “almost unprecedented.”
Graham and Coons, in their letter to Senate leaders, raised concerns “that this was an abrupt decision taken in the face of reported opposition from military and diplomatic leaders.”
“We believe that it is imperative that the Department of Defense, State Department, and the Intelligence Community provide an all-members classified briefing on this decision as soon as possible,” they wrote.
But another one of Trump’s closest allies, Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.), defended the president’s action and criticized fellow Republicans for rebelling.
“They always want to stay at war. They think it’s the best answer,” Paul said of what he called the “neocon war caucus of the Senate.”
“President Trump recognizes what President Reagan recognized, unfortunately too late, in Beirut. Leaving 300 or 400 people in an area that are vulnerable could lead to catastrophe,” Paul said Monday on Fox News.
In the House, Democrats said they were looking at several options to push back against Trump’s latest foreign policy move, which caught leaders of both parties by surprise.
“Multiple committees are looking at possible legislative efforts to put the House on record against the president’s outrageous decision,” said a Democratic leadership aide.
While House Republicans have not sided with Democrats on many measures critical of Trump, it seemed possible that the Syria decision could be an exception.
The Senate voted 70-26 in February to advance a resolution authored by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) expressing strong opposition to the precipitous withdrawal of troops from Syria or Afghanistan.
McConnell reminded Trump of that in a statement Monday, urging him “to exercise American leadership to keep our multinational coalition to defeat ISIS and prevent significant conflict between our NATO ally Turkey and our local Syrian counterterrorism partners,” referring to Kurdish forces.
A second Senate Republican aide said there could be language added to the annual National Defense Authorization Act to influence Trump’s Syria policy.
But a Republican spokeswoman for the Senate Armed Services Committee noted the bill is still under negotiation and declined to speculate on what might be included in the final version.
The House version of the legislation limits military spending until the secretary of Defense submits to the congressional committees a detailed report on the military mission to combat Islamic militants in Syria and Iraq.
The House bill also requires the secretaries of Defense and State to submit to Congress plans for providing assistance to vetted Syrian opposition forces.
Aside from the defense authorization bill, Congress could pass other measures, from ratcheting up sanctions on Syria to sanctioning foreign individuals who provide support to the Syrian government.
None of those bills, however, would reverse Trump’s decision on Syria.
But Graham on Tuesday endorsed the threat of sanctions against Turkey to safeguard against a military strike against Kurdish forces.
“If Turkey moves into northern Syria, sanctions from hell – by Congress – will follow. Wide, deep, and devastating sanctions,” he tweeted.
Brett McGurk....
U.S. withdrawal from Syria presents opportunity and risk for Turkey - Haaretz
12/29/2018, 4:03:08 PM · by Texas Fossil · 11 replies
Ahval (Events) ^ | December 29, 2018 | none stated
U.S. President Donald Trump reshaped U.S. policy in the Middle East by handing Ankara the job of finishing off Islamic State, in Syria in a move that poses both a risk/opportunity for Turkey, Israeli Haaretz newspaper wrote. Trump was expected to warn the Turkish president over his plan to launch a third crossborder attack targeting U.S.-backed Kurdish forces, namely the People’s Protection Units (YPG) in northeast Syria, during a phone call 2-weeks ago. However, something unexpected happened, Haaretz said.Trump is reported to have asked if Ankara can ‘’clean up ISIS?’’ if the U.S. withdraws, with Turkey’s strongman responding Turkish forces were...
Narrow majority backs Trump on Syria, Afghanistan troop reductions
12/29/2018, 6:18:07 AM · by 11th_VA · 55 replies
The Hill ^ | Dec 29, 2018
A narrow majority of U.S. voters support President Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria and reduce the country’s military presence in Afghanistan, according to a new Harvard CAPS/Harris poll released exclusively to The Hill. Fifty-two percent of respondents said they back the moves in Syria and Afghanistan, which came as a surprise to the president’s own national security advisers when it was announced last week. By contrast, 48 percent said they oppose the troop withdrawals and reductions, the poll found. Trump announced he would completely remove the approximately 2,000 troops in Syria battling ISIS, while he said he...
JOHN KERRY SLAMS ‘PATHETIC’ DONALD TRUMP FOR COMMENTS ABOUT ANTI-ISIS ENVOY:
12/25/2018, 2:02:46 PM · by Libloather · 81 replies
Newsweak ^ | 12/24/18 | RAMSEY TOUCHBERRY
**SNIP** Kerry, in a tweet, also said it was “pathetic” and “demoralizing to public servants everywhere,” that Trump would, “defame a public servant who joined the Bush Administration and stayed on the last two years to help Iraq & defeat ISIL.” Kerry worked with McGurk during his time as secretary of state for the Obama administration. As mentioned by Kerry, McGurk served in the George W. Bush White House and was appointed to his most recent anti-ISIS role in 2015 under Obama. McGurk resigned amid the fallout in Washington from Trump’s recent, abrupt decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria...
Trump Fact-Checks Media: Brett McGurk Responsible for Pallets of Cash to Iran
12/24/2018, 4:02:01 PM · by conservative98 · 25 replies
Breitbart ^ | December 24, 2018 | Joel B. Pollak
President Donald Trump reacted Monday to critics who had rallied around former U.S. envoy Brett McGurk, noting that he was the Obama administration official responsible for sending pallets of cash to Iran for U.S. hostages. [cut] For all of the sympathizers out there of Brett McGurk remember, he was the Obama appointee who was responsible for loading up airplanes with 1.8 Billion Dollars in CASH & sending it to Iran as part of the horrific Iran Nuclear Deal (now terminated) approved by Little Bob Corker.— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 24, 2018
Brett McGurk, An Obama Holdover, Has Resigned — Here’s Why You Should Recognize His Name
12/23/2018, 5:35:31 PM · by blueyon · 43 replies
governorPalin.org ^ | 12/23/18 | Lawrence Richard
On Saturday, Brett McGurk submitted his resignation and is leaving the Trump administration. McGurk served as the US envoy in a global anti-ISIS coalition and reportedly resigned amid President Trump’s decision to pull out of Syria—a decision which also reportedly led to the resignation of Defense Secretary James Mattis.
Saudi Arabia’s $100M pledge arrives in American accounts as Pompeo lands in Riyadh: report
10/17/2018, 8:30:31 AM · by McGruff · 10 replies
Fox News ^ | 10/17/2018 | Bradford Betz
A Saudi contribution of $100 million to U.S.-backed stabilization efforts in Syria arrived in American accounts Tuesday, just as State Mike Pompeo touched down in Riyadh to discuss the missing Saudi journalist, an anonymous U.S. official told The New York Times. The source said the timing of the two events is no accident. He said Saudi Arabia originally pledged its contribution in August, and U.S. officials were expecting to receive it by the fall. But Brett McGurk, a U.S. envoy to the coalition fighting the Islamic State in Syria, played down the significance of the timing with Pompeo’s visit.
Abandoning our Kurdish allies is a win for our Iranian enemies
10/21/2017, 5:27:56 PM · by george76 · 23 replies
Fox News ^ | October 21, 2017 | Michael Pregent,
The U.S. military must figure out how to keep Iraq from breaking apart while also preventing neighboring Iran from turning Iraq into a proxy state.. It makes no sense for a nation to treat its enemies kindly and its allies harshly. Any nation that tries this foolish approach will see its enemies grow stronger and more dangerous, and will lose its allies when it abandons them. ... The man most responsible for the failure of the U.S. to give adequate support to the Kurds is Brett McGurk, President Trump’s special envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIS. He held...
IS fighters remaining in Mosul will die, says U.S.-led coalition
3/14/2017, 11:37:29 PM · by BeauBo · 28 replies
Iraqi News ^ | Mar 13, 2017 | Mohamed Mostafa
“ISIS is trapped. … Any of the fighters left in Mosul, they’re going to die there,” Brett McGurk said in a conference in Baghdad late Sunday... “So we are very committed to not just defeating them in Mosul, but making sure these guys cannot escape,” McGurk stated.
Whistleblower: Hillary´s Chief Staff Quashed State Dept. Scandal Investigation
6/11/2013, 2:34:31 PM · by Nachum · 13 replies
Breitbart ^ | 6/11/13 | John Nolte
A former senior investigator with the State Department´s criminal investigative unit has turned whistleblower and alleged to both the media and Congress that senior staff within State Department covered up investigations into appalling behavior committed by members of Hillary Clinton´s security staff and our ambassador to Belgium. One of those alleged to have interfered was Cheryl Mills, Hillary´s chief of staff. The case in which Clinton enforcer Mills allegedly intervened centered upon Brett McGurk, Obama’s nominee to be US ambassador to Iraq. McGurk’s expected nomination fell apart after a computer hack exposed
U.S. Signed Secret Document to Lift U.N. Sanctions on Iranian Banks [same day Tehran released..]
9/29/2016, 8:26:44 PM · by Sub-Driver · 13 replies
Wall Street Journal ^
U.S. Signed Secret Document to Lift U.N. Sanctions on Iranian Banks Administration backed measures on the same day Tehran released four American citizens from prison By Jay Solomon and Carol E. Lee Sept. 29, 2016 8:02 p.m. ET 0 COMMENTS WASHINGTON—The Obama administration agreed to back the lifting of United Nations sanctions on two Iranian state banks blacklisted for financing Iran’s ballistic-missile program on the same day in January that Tehran released four American citizens from prison, according to U.S. officials and congressional staff briefed on the deliberations. The U.N. sanctions on the two banks weren’t initially to be lifted...
Retired General Replaced by Lawyer as Special Envoy to Iraq, Syria
10/23/2015, 5:19:22 PM · by Timber Rattler · 12 replies
Military.com ^ | October 23, 2015 | Richard Sisk
President Obama announced Friday that he was replacing retired Marine Gen. John Allen with lawyer and diplomat Brett McGurk as his special envoy for Iraq and Syria with a wide-ranging portfolio that includes holding together a coalition against ISIS. Allen, who reportedly had clashed with the military over the now-defunct $500 million effort to create an army of Syrian volunteers, was departing after 13 months as special presidential envoy for the global coalition to counter the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, another name for the terrorist group.
Phony Ambassador Running Obama’s Anti-Islamic State Diplomacy
9/30/2015, 2:28:37 PM · by SubMareener · 7 replies
The Washington Free Beacon ^ | September 30, 2015 12:00 pm | Adam Kredo
The Obama administration official most likely in line to become the next U.S. envoy to the Coalition to Counter the Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIS or ISIL) has falsely presented himself as an official U.S. ambassador by the administration for the last five months, according to documents reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon. Brett McGurk, a deputy special presidential envoy to the Global Coalition who serves under General John Allen, was temporarily appointed by the administration as an ambassador on Oct. 18, 2014. He was conferred this rank through a little-known legal loophole that allows the administration to...
Ambassador who sided with Muslim Brotherhood spearheads State Department’s anti-ISIS effort
9/20/2014, 9:44:39 PM · by 2ndDivisionVet · 10 replies
Powerline ^ | September 19, 2014 | Paul Mirengoff
John Kerry has assembled a three-person team to lead the State Department’s efforts against ISIS. Two of the members — Gen. John Allen and Brett McGurk — seem unobjectionable. The third, Anne Patterson, is another matter. In announcing her central role, Kerry praised Patterson as “one of our nation’s top diplomats deeply respected in the region.” But Patterson is not respected in Egypt, where she served as ambassador during the period when the Muslim Brotherhood was in power. Bridget Johnson at PJ Media reminds us that Patterson stood firmly behind the Brotherhood as it persecuted opponents and attempted to consolidate...
I totally agree with President Trump’s decision. My reason: The ISIS caliphate destroyed the WW1 state borders between Syria and Iraq (maybe Jordan) and now that it is defeated there is a power vacuum as to how this territory is going to be divided up. The WW1 borders were imposed by European victors after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. I do not think that the USA stands to gain anything getting into a border war to redraw new maps. We have given the Kurds millions and trained their fighters. They still have our economic support and probably military should Turkey try to invade their homeland. The fight now is for the land inbetween Turkey, Iraq and the Kurds. They need to decide what that will be as only they can ultimately defend it. We have removed ISIS, now they need to settle this among themselves. The President has set parameters to protect the Kurds homeland. It is not in the USA’s interest to determine where the national borders should be. The Europeans did that and it caused the west to be involved in endless conflict. We should not fall into the same trap.
Is this what Eisenhower warned about regarding the weapons industry.
I suspect a lot of members of the deep state are in their pocket.
The House of Saud owns BOTH US houses. Nuff said.
LIKE 50 US TROOPS COULD STOP THIS. THEY WOULD BE DEAD.
Rebelling against Trump is about the worst way to get him to change his mind. They should know that by now.
I wasn't aware Trump listened to me.
Are we still talking about the 25-50 US soldiers in Syria?
Hysteria.
NATO membership does NOT confer upon Erdie a get-out-of-jail-free card in the event Turkey commits genocide.
The US will deal with the Turks in that event. And our so-called allies, too, if they try to stop the US.
Well, you do make a point there.
The American people are with President Trump in this. We never had any kind of mandate to go into Syria. It is not vital to our national interests. Get out. Stop constantly meddling in every conflict overseas. Focus on taking care of our needs rather than others.
Trump is giving the stupid GOP a major campaign issue and bridge to capture a huge amount of independents, mainstream Democrats and even raise doubts in some Leftist ones (at least those who take their anti-war leftism seriously).
And all some GOP idiots do is complain publicly and fret about imperial ambitions in mideast shitholes.
Will any be smart enough to grasp it?
If we have no control over our own government we should not be fighting overseas
I guess that I missed the vote that sent us into Syria in the first place. Anyone have a link?
Anyway, if people do a bit of research regarding our Kurdish allies, the PKK, they’ll find they’re Marxists...which then makes sense that the Deep State would be upset we pulled the rug from under them.
When are we coming home from Germany?
Because it is always such a great idea to join with the Democrats when they are attacking our President... Republicans continue to be brilliant strategists when it comes to snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory.
Yeah, I don’t know. I can see both sides on this.
I really don’t care about anyone in the ME except Israel and the Kurds.
Turkey is not our friend, either.
And the Kurds have plenty of issues, depending on which group you are talking about.
We should never have gone to Syria, but once you are there, you should follow through.
I defer to the CIC on this, but I’m not going to say Lindsey Graham is all wet.
What Congress needs to do is declare War. Otherwise, get out of the way of the CIC.
As opposed to putting American lives at risk for something we have no stake in. The previous administration squandered American soldiers' lives like they were Kleenex in conflicts that were of no benefit to America.
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