President Trump told lawmakers this week he’s “100%” on board with keeping some U.S. troops in Syria, less than three months after announcing a complete withdrawal.
Trump declared in December that the Islamic State was defeated and he was ordering all U.S. troops in Syria sent home. That decision faced backlash from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and was a factor in James Mattis’ resignation as secretary of defense.
The president reversed course last month, with White House press secretary Sarah Sanders saying that “a small peacekeeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for a period of time.”
A bipartisan group of lawmakers from both chambers of Congress sent the president a letter applauding his change of heart.
“We support a small American stabilizing force in Syria,” the lawmakers wrote Feb. 22. “We agree that a stabilizing force, which includes a small contingent of American troops and ground forces from our European allies, is essential to ensure stability and prevent the return of ISIS.”
After Trump received the letter, he highlighted a paragraph emphasizing the lawmakers’ goals for U.S. involvement in Syria.
“Like you, we seek to ensure that all of the gains made in Syria are not lost, that ISIS never returns, that Iran is not emboldened, and that we consolidate our gains and ensure the best outcome in Geneva for American interests,” the paragraph read. “Those are all important objectives.”
“I agree 100%. ALL is being done,” Trump wrote on a copy of the letter, adding his signature.
Trump acknowledged this past weekend in his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference that a “small group” of troops would remain in Syria but simultaneously reaffirmed his commitment to bringing troops home.
“We’ll leave a small group of guys and gals. But we want to bring our people back home,” Trump said. “We want to bring our people back home. It’s time. Been in these wars. We were going to be in Syria for four months. We ended up five years. This fighting — they just like to fight.”
