General Mattis’ decision to leave over differences in policy with Trump has lead to Brett McGurk accelerating his exit.
BREAKING: over his disagreement with @realDonaldTrump's abrupt #Syria pullout, special envoy Brett McGurk is accelerating his resignation from the @StateDept, reports @margbrennan https://t.co/16vXGrtelP pic.twitter.com/eZI8F7c58K
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) December 22, 2018
Breaking - Brett McGurk, the President’s envoy to the coalition against ISIS, has resigned his post effective December 31. He had planned to exit in 2019 but accelerated the departure due to disagreement with the snap decision to pullout of Syria. https://t.co/5KPTbfdl8B
— margaret brennan (@margbrennan) December 22, 2018
The link above doesn’t work yet, but it makes sense McGurk would leave – here’s what he said about ISIS and Syria just a while ago:
"So obviously, it would be reckless if we were just to say, well, the physical caliphate is defeated, so we can just leave now. I think anyone who’s looked at a conflict like this would agree with that." Brett McGurk, Presidential Envoy for the Defeat ISIS Coalition, Dec 11. pic.twitter.com/0OLrgf3sFB
— Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) December 19, 2018
This is how Trump's special envoy to the anti-ISIS coalition Brett McGurk answered just last week when asked how long US troops would be in Syria - "We have obviously learned a lot of lessons in the past...we can’t just pick up and leave." pic.twitter.com/9qr88Tx343
— Vera Bergengruen (@VeraMBergen) December 19, 2018
Yup.
And here’s some more about what led to Trump pulling out of Syria:
That development materialized last Friday during a call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, after Erdogan asked Trump why there were still 2,000 US troops in Syria if the Islamic State had been defeated.
“You know what? It’s yours,” Trump said, according to The Washington Post. “I’m leaving.”
The Associated Press reported that members of Trump’s national-security team, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Mattis, wrote out talking points to dissuade Turkey from bringing troops into northern Syria and attacking Turkish Kurds, which would put US forces at risk. The US is allied with the Turkish Kurds in Syria, providing them with supplies and training in the fight against the Islamic State.
But both The Post and the AP explain that Trump went rogue.
“The talking points were very firm,” one official told the Associated Press. “Everybody said push back and try to offer (Turkey) something that’s a small win, possibly holding territory on the border, something like that.”
John Bolton, Trump’s national security adviser, also allegedly explained on the call that a victory against the Islamic State would need to mean more than just a loss of territory.
Trump, however, sided with Erdogan, and the AP reported that even Erdogan cautioned Trump on pulling troops out too hastily.
Making the MidEast Caliphate Again?