Trump Slows US Troops withdrawal from Syria

Local Editor

US President Donald Trump has agreed to give the military about four months to withdraw the 2,000 United States troops in Syria, administration officials said on Monday, backtracking from his abrupt order two weeks ago that the military pull out within 30 days.

Trump confirmed on Twitter that troops would “slowly” be withdrawn, but complained that he got little credit for the move after a fresh round of criticism from retired Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal and reports from the departing White House chief of staff, John F. Kelly, himself a retired Marine general, about the president’s impulsive decision-making.

“If anybody but Donald Trump did what I did in Syria, which was an ISIS loaded mess when I became President, they would be a national hero,” Trump wrote. “ISIS is mostly gone, we’re slowly sending our troops back home to be with their families, while at the same time fighting ISIS remnants.”

During a surprise trip to Iraq last week, Trump privately told the commander of American forces in Iraq and Syria, Lt. Gen. Paul J. LaCamera, that the military could have several months to complete a safe and orderly withdrawal, according to two United States officials. And on Sunday, Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, told reporters that a “pause situation” on the troop withdrawal was in effect.

A Pentagon spokesman, Cmdr. Sean Robertson, said on Monday, “I’ll let the president’s words speak for themselves.”

Military officials have declined to specify the timing of the departure, partly for operational security reasons and partly because many details are still quite fluid, and officials recognize that Trump could change his mind at any moment and speed up the departure.

Asked in a Fox News interview on Monday about how he had assuaged Graham, Trump said, “I said, ‘You know, I never said that I’m going to rush out.’”

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team