Gen. Joseph Votel, the most senior U.S. military commander overseeing operations in Syria, told Congress Tuesday that he was totally out of the loop when President Trump decided in December to pull all U.S. troops out of the country.
Votel, the four-star Army general who heads U.S. Central Command, testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee that Trump neither sought his advice nor informed him in advance of the decision.
Votel made the admission under questioning from Sen. Angus King, I-Maine. “Were you aware of the president’s intention to order the withdrawal of our troops from Syria before that was publicly announced?” King asked.
“I was not aware of the specific announcement,” Votel replied. “Certainly, we are aware that he has expressed a desire and intent in the past to depart … Syria.”
“So you weren’t, you weren’t consulted before that decision was announced?” King pressed.
“I was not consulted,” Votel said.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis resigned after Trump blindsided the Pentagon with his withdrawal announcement on Twitter Dec. 19, made without Mattis’ counsel on the need to keep troops in Syria to stabilize the areas liberated from the Islamic State. Trump reportedly made the decision on Dec. 14 during a phone call with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
