A captain in the National Guard who served alongside Kurdish forces in Syria said that President Trump’s decision to pull troops from the country was “immoral” and “un-American.”
In a video by the New York Times, Capt. Alan Kennedy of the Colorado Army National Guard blasted Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from northern Syria, which paved the way for a Turkish attack against the Kurds in the region, who were allied with America in the fight against the Islamic State.
“Weeks ago, our commander in chief announced he was pulling our last troops out of the region. Ever since, I haven’t been able to sleep at night,” Kennedy said.
“Our complete withdrawal from Syria is unstrategic, immoral, and ultimately un-American,” he added.
Kennedy said that he supports pulling troops out of the Middle East but argued that the way it was done was irresponsible and put U.S. allies in harm’s way. He said he agreed with Trump’s view on ending “endless wars” but added that the way to properly do so is by “building and maintaining alliances, by creating a peace process that maintains stability in the region, and supporting our allies.”
“I met a Kurdish fighter who asked me if the U.S. would ever leave Syria. I reassured him, ‘Of course the U.S. would never leave Syria and abandon the Kurds.’ They’re our partners,” Kennedy said. “I was wrong.”
“I can’t believe President Trump let this happen,” he added.
The U.S. withdrawal from northern Syria is immoral and un-American, says this national guard captain https://t.co/9FtV2LaOCR pic.twitter.com/Clq3f3WMGt
— New York Times Opinion (@nytopinion) October 19, 2019
Trump faced criticism on both sides of the aisle after he announced his decision to relocate troops in Syria to allow a Turkish invasion to commence. He later abruptly withdrew about 1,000 troops from the region. Trump said Thursday that Turkish and Kurdish forces have agreed to a ceasefire that includes Kurdish forces withdrawing from an approximately 20-mile “safe zone” in Syria along the Turkish border.
