President Trump today sought to claim credit for saving the lives of tens of thousands of Kurds and accomplishing a “great outcome” in Syria — attempting to spin his tacit approval of Turkey’s deadly invasion and the resulting escape of dozens of Islamic State militants as a political win.
During a televised address from the White House, Trump praised the five-day cease-fire agreement Vice President Mike Pence negotiated last Thursday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and announced that officials in Ankara would not direct the military to resume its assault.
“Today’s announcement validates our course of action with Turkey, that only a couple of weeks ago was scorned. And now people are saying, ‘Wow, what a great outcome, congratulations,'” Trump said, flanked by Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser Robert O’Brien.
“It’s too early, to me, to be congratulated,” the president continued. “But we’ve done a good job. We’ve saved a lot of lives.”
Trump said he had instructed the Treasury Department to lift the sanctions it imposed on Turkey last week.
Trump had previously announced the withdrawal of the last American soldiers from northeastern Syria last week, provoking outrage from some fellow Republicans who accused him of paving the way for Turkey to slaughter the U.S.-allied Kurdish fighters who helped quash ISIS forces in the region.
Despite the largely optimistic tone of Trump’s remarks, the safety of the Syrian Kurds remains far from assured amid encroaching threats from Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who reached an accord Tuesday to further repel the Kurdish militias — driving the fighters away from Syrian territory just south of Turkey’s border.
Earlier today, the Kremlin deployed Russian military police to begin patrolling part of the Syrian border, according to the Associated Press, and the Turkish military had announced it would not restart its offensive “at this stage” following the conclusion of the U.S.-brokered cease-fire.
Apart from Moscow’s new geopolitical influence, the rapid American pullout has also contributed to fears by members of Congress and human rights activists that the Kurds and other ethnic and religious minorities could soon be threatened by mass atrocities such as ethnic cleansing.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon’s plan to relocate the outgoing American troops has been met with resistance by Iraq’s government.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Tuesday the nearly 1,000 U.S. soldiers shifting from Syria into western Iraq would remain there only “temporarily,” after the Iraqi military declared the American troops did not have permission to stay on a long-term basis to launch missions into Syria targeting ISIS.
Iraqi Defense Minister Najah al-Shammari told the AP following a meeting with Esper today that the U.S. forces are simply “transiting” and would exit the country “within a time frame not exceeding four weeks.”
Back in Washington, Senate lawmakers have struggled to unify around a meaningful measure to punish Turkey for its incursion and to rebuke the controversial maneuvers by the commander in chief that produced the crisis.
“It’s unthinkable that Turkey would not suffer consequences for malevolent behavior which was contrary to the interests of the United States and our friends,” Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) tweeted Wednesday, panning Trump’s move to revoke the U.S. sanctions on Ankara.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), one of the president’s top congressional allies but a fierce initial critic of his Syria policy, expressed doubt that malign actors such as Putin or President Bashar al-Assad of Syria would effectively counter ISIS.
“It is imperative we continue to partner with Kurdish forces to prevent ISIS from coming back,” he said in a statement. “I do not trust or believe that Turkey, Russia, or Assad have the capability or the desire to protect America from radical Islamic threats like ISIS.”
While Graham said he agreed with Trump “that America is not the policeman of the world,” he urged the president to authorize “a small – but capable – military partnership with [Syrian Democratic Forces] elements to prevent the reemergence of ISIS and maintain control of ISIS held fighters.”