On Wednesday morning, President Donald Trump tweeted:
We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 19, 2018
Trump’s tweets don’t always reflect actual policy, and in fact the government is sending mixed messages on Syria. As The New York Times reports, Trump has ordered a complete immediate withdrawal, but he’s done so in the face of resistance from the Pentagon and his own secretary of defense, James Mattis.
Trump’s military advisers have warned that a rapid withdrawal would embolden rivals such as Russia and Iran. America’s Kurdish allies in Syria have also been threatened in recent days by the Turkish government, which has warned it would attack them. A rapid withdrawal would endanger not only Syrian Kurds but also weaken America’s credibility with other local fighters in Afghanistan, Yemen, and Syria.
As The Daily Beast notes, the government is sending mixed messages on Syria, with the Pentagon seemingly suggesting that there has been no policy shift. In a statement, Pentagon spokesperson Rob Manning said, “At this time, we continue to work by, with and through our partners in the region.”
Pentagon spokesperson Dana White also seemed to contradict the idea that the war with ISIS has been won.
And now from Pentagon's Dana White:
— Spencer Ackerman (@attackerman) December 19, 2018
"The Coalition has liberated the ISIS-held territory, but the campaign against ISIS is not over.
"We have started the process of returning U.S. troops home from Syria as we transition to the next phase of the campaign."
Key Republicans are also speaking out against the move. “This is chaos,” South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham told reporters. He also tweeted:
With all due respect, ISIS is not defeated in Syria, Iraq, and after just returning from visiting there -- certainly not Afghanistan.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) December 19, 2018
Florida Senator Marco Rubio also spoke out against the move:
Marco Rubio railed on the president’s decision to pull out of Syria, saying whoever advised him has done a “great disservice” to the country. He said to us that Trump has put the US at risk by his decision - and it will make the world view America as an unreliable partner.
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) December 19, 2018
Withdrawing from Syria is not, on the face of it, an inherently bad or indefensible policy. But what is undeniably dangerous is the chaotic manner the policy is being executed and the mixed messages being sent to the world. The incoherence increases the chance of greater conflict, as America’s friends and rivals will see the country as a fickle and untrustworthy actor on the world stage.