President Trump’s national security adviser sought to reassure allies Sunday that the United States would be methodical about withdrawing troops from Syria, promising that the pullout would not occur until the Islamic State was fully eradicated from the country and Turkey could guarantee the safety of Kurdish fighters who have fought alongside American personnel.
John Bolton’s comments, reported by the Associated Press, contradict Trump’s mid-December promise to bring troops home from Syria “now,” an announcement that surprised allies and advisers, sparked an outcry from lawmakers, and prompted the resignation of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.
It is also the clearest statement yet from any of the president’s surrogates about how they plan to slow the implementation of his pullout plans.
“There are objectives that we want to accomplish that condition the withdrawal,” Bolton told reporters in Jerusalem, on a trip intended to allay Israeli leaders’ concerns about Trump’s announcement. “The timetable flows from the policy decisions that we need to implement.”
Trump touched off global confusion and panic when he announced via Twitter on Dec. 19 that he would order the withdrawal of the 2,000 troops stationed in Syria to help fight the Islamic State.
“Our boys, our young women, our men, they’re all coming back and they’re coming back now. We won,” Trump said at the time – a move that both allies and critics warned could upset the balance of power in the Middle East, emboldening Russia and Iran, and threaten what tenuous stability U.S.-aligned forces had been able to achieve in Syria.
Bolton’s comments come amid reports that Trump had agreed to extend his initial 30-day deadline for withdrawal to four months. When asked whether Bolton’s comments would affect that timeline, a senior administration official said that “there is no specific timeline for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria, and reports to the contrary are false.”
Nonetheless, the plans and assurances the national security adviser offered in Israel were confirmation that withdrawal plans are on hold until conditions on the ground match the president’s stated assessment of the situation in Syria. As part of his announcement, Trump said the United States had “defeated ISIS” there – a claim that his advisers and political allies have disputed.
Trump’s advisers and Republican allies have warned that pulling out U.S. troops would also leave Kurdish fighters – who had been vital U.S. allies – susceptible to attacks by Turkey, where leaders see the group as a threat to their nation’s sovereignty.
In a Sunday news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Bolton said that “the defense of Israel and other friends in the region is absolutely assured” and that the United States would “take care of those who have fought with us against ISIS and other terrorist groups.” He also said that the withdrawal would take place “in a way to make sure ISIS is defeated and is not able to revive itself and become a threat again.”
But while Bolton’s comments may have come as a relief to some, a top House Democrat stressed that the priorities the national security adviser outlined were “obvious” – and simply highlighted how dangerous Trump’s initial withdrawal announcement was.
“We don’t want ISIS to rise again and be a transnational terrorist threat, and we don’t want our allies the Kurds to be slaughtered by Erdogan in Turkey. That was obvious,” House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., said Sunday on ABC News’ “This Week.” He was referring to Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Smith added: “I’m pleased that John Bolton has recognized the national security interest, and that’s what we want to have … not a tweet going ‘Eh, let’s get out of Syria.'”
Smith said he hoped to have Mattis testify before his panel, calling the former defense secretary’s views “invaluable.”
In his resignation letter, Mattis noted disagreements he’d had with Trump over the president’s approach to U.S. allies and adversaries, and said that Trump deserved a defense secretary whose views would be more aligned with his. Smith was more succinct in his assessment of Trump’s approach to global relations, saying Sunday that “our allies matter enormously and the president treats them like dirt.”
Democrats have lamented the departure of figures such as Mattis, whom they viewed as a tempering influence on Trump.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.