US Senate rebukes Donald Trump on troop withdrawals from Syria and Afghanistan
- The vote is the latest indication of deepening cracks between the Republican Senate and Trump on foreign policy matters
- Trump has argued that Islamic State had been defeated even though his intelligence chiefs disagree
In a bipartisan rebuke to US President Donald Trump, the Senate voted 68-23 Thursday to advance an amendment that would oppose withdrawal of US troops from Syria and Afghanistan.
The amendment by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell comes after Trump called for a drawdown of troops in both of those countries. The measure says Islamic State and al-Qaeda militants still pose a serious threat to the United States, and it warns that “a precipitous withdrawal” of US forces from those countries could “allow terrorists to regroup, destabilise critical regions and create vacuums that could be filled by Iran or Russia”.
Trump abruptly tweeted plans for a US pull-out from Syria in December, arguing that Islamic State had been defeated even though his intelligence chiefs have said the group remains a threat.
Trump also ordered the military to develop plans to remove up to half of the 14,000 US forces in Afghanistan.
McConnell did not frame the measure as a reproach to the president, but he said before the vote that “I’ve been clear about my own views on these subjects.” He said he believes the threats remain.
“IS and al-Qaeda have yet to be defeated,” McConnell said. “And American national security interests require continued commitment to our missions there.”
The vote is the latest indication of deepening cracks between the Republican Senate and Trump on foreign policy matters.
Similar rifts exist within Trump’s own administration, evident this week when the heads of major US intelligence agencies testified to the Senate and contradicted him on the strength of Islamic State and several other foreign policy matters.
Trump’s announcement on Syria, meanwhile, prompted the resignation of Defence Secretary James Mattis.
McConnell’s amendment, which is nonbinding, would encourage cooperation between the White House and Congress to develop long-term strategies in both nations, “including a thorough accounting of the risks of withdrawing too hastily”.
Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican from Florida, argued in support of the amendment on the Senate floor, saying Trump’s withdrawal announcement has already undermined US credibility in the region.
“This is being used against us right now,” Rubio said. “This is a very dangerous situation. That’s why this is a very bad idea.”
Though many Democrats have argued that the US should eventually withdraw from the conflicts in Syria and Afghanistan, around half of them supported McConnell’s resolution.
California Senator Dianne Feinstein said after the vote that she believes it’s “far past due for the United States to negotiate an appropriate end” to the conflict in Afghanistan.
But she said she also agreed with McConnell that the “precipitous withdrawal” from either country without political resolutions would risk what troops there have already achieved. She voted in favour of the measure.
Many of the most liberal members of the Senate — including several Democrats who are eying presidential runs in 2020 — voted against the amendment.
Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont said he thinks Trump announced the withdrawals too abruptly, but the US has been in Afghanistan and Syria for too long. “What McConnell is saying is let’s maintain the status quo,” he said.
A handful of Republicans also opposed the amendment. McConnell’s Kentucky colleague, Republican Senator Rand Paul, missed the vote but said he was against it.
“It’s time to bring our troops home from Afghanistan and Syria,” Paul wrote in a tweet, saying he stands with Trump. “It is ludicrous to call withdrawal after 17 years ‘precipitous.’”
A vote on final passage of the amendment could come early next week. If it succeeds, the language would be added to a wide-ranging foreign policy bill that has been pending on the Senate floor for several weeks.
