US pullout from Syria 'great gift' to Iran, Russia: Senator
US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw American troops from Syria was a “great Christmas gift” to Iran and Russia, says a Democratic senator in Congress.
Delaware Senator Chris Coons said Sunday that the fact that both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Republican Senator Rand Paul welcomed Trump’s Wednesday announcement showed how “terrible” the move actually was.
"And it’s a pretty clear guide post for me, when there’s a foreign policy decision that’s cheered by Vladimir Putin and Rand Paul, that’s a pretty good sign it’s a terrible idea," Coons, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, stated.
The decision has sparked bipartisan backlash in Washington, forcing US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and the State Department's senior envoy to the so-called anti-Daesh coalition, Brett McGurk, to resign.
Trump, however, remained defiant, claiming that the US had defeated the Daesh terrorist group in Syria and that called for ending the US military mission in Syria, which began with a bombing campaign in 2014 and went on to include troops deployments.
I don’t even like Trump but I’m fine with this. If left up to Mattis and anonymous top pentagon officials we’d have troops stationed in Syria and especially their favorite Afghanistan until the end of time.
— Joseph (@mindjitsu) December 23, 2018
Coons disagreed with the president, warning that there was still work to be done in the Arab country, which has been struggling with foreign-backed militancy since 2011.
“We shouldn’t fumble the ball on the 5-yard line. The mission against ISIS, where the United States built a coalition of dozens of countries, is on the verge of winning — of completely shutting down ISIS in Syria," Coons said, using another synonym for Daesh.
"And for us to withdraw right now and abandon our Kurdish allies, paves a highway for control of Syria for either Iran and Russia or Turkey," he added.
Iran and Russia have been helping the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad purge the country of terror groups.
While Russia has led its own aerial campaign against terrorists in the war-torn country since 2015, Iran has opted for a military advisory role.
Syria has been able to score major victories against Daesh in recent years, pushing back against open Western plans to topple Assad.
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