Senators on Wednesday expressed surprise and concern over news broke this morning that President Trump had ordered an immediate withdrawal of the U.S. military’s 2,000 troops stationed in Syria.
Following news reports, Trump appeared to confirm the withdrawal in a tweet, stating “We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency.”
In an emailed statement, the Pentagon said, “the Coalition has liberated the ISIS-held territory, but the campaign against ISIS is not over. We have started the process of returning troops home from Syria as we transition to the next phase of the campaign.” No additional details will be provided for “force protection and operational security reasons,” the email said.
Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) and Senate Foreign Relations Committee said they wished they were consulted before the news broke and were concerned that it appeared there had been no interagency consultation on the matter before troops began to withdraw.
Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), the retiring chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters that to his knowledge, no one was contacted in the Senate prior to the news breaking Wednesday morning.
“That’s a point and certainly something of concern. I’m more concerned about the fact that I don’t get the sense … that there was any interagency process,” Corker added.
SASC Chairman Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) told reporters he thought it would be “common sense” for the White House to alert relevant Senate committees of his intent to withdraw troops. He noted that he spoke with National Security Adviser John Bolton on the matter Wednesday morning, and with Vice President Mike Pence during the Senate Republicans lunch that day. He declined to comment on the outcome of those talks.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), a SASC member and Army combat veteran, told Defense Daily the U.S. government should be “very cautious” about a full withdrawal from Syria.
“I think we leave a lot of populations vulnerable in that area,” she added. “Our mission there is a counterterrorism mission, and I don’t believe that ISIS has been fully defeated.”
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, noted that he was not entirely supportive of having troops in Syria without congressional authorization, but “it doesn’t seem like there’s any plan” for what comes after troops return home.
“I just have no idea what [Trump’s] strategy is,” he said.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said in an emailed statement that a withdrawal from Syria would be “an Obama-like mistake made by the Trump Administration.”
“After visiting Syria earlier this year, it is abundantly clear the approximately 2,000 American troops stationed there are vital to our national security interests,” he added, noting that a U.S. withdrawal would benefit ISIS, Russia, Iran and Syria.
It is not immediately clear how a withdrawal of troops from Syria would affect other U.S. military missions in the country, such as airstrikes, or how the withdrawal process would proceed. The White House and National Security Council referred questions to the Pentagon, who in turn referred them back to the White House.