After reports this morning that Trump intends to pull all of our troops out of Syria, he tweeted the following:
We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency.
We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 19, 2018
Sounds like he’s justifying the move to pull all our troops out.
Well just a few minutes ago, the Pentagon spokeswoman tweeted the following:
The #Coalition has liberated ISIS-held territory, but the campaign against #ISIS is not over.
— Charles E. Summers, Jr. (@ChiefPentSpox) December 19, 2018
We have started the process of returning U.S. troops home from #Syria as we transition to the next phase of the campaign.
— Charles E. Summers, Jr. (@ChiefPentSpox) December 19, 2018
For force protection and operational security reasons we will not provide further details.
— Charles E. Summers, Jr. (@ChiefPentSpox) December 19, 2018
We will continue working with our partners and allies to defeat ISIS wherever it operates.
— Charles E. Summers, Jr. (@ChiefPentSpox) December 19, 2018
Honestly, I’m not sure what to make of this. At first glance it sounds like the Pentagon is contradicting Trump.
White says they have begun returning troops home from Syria, but suggests ISIS is NOT defeated as Trump tweeted this morning. She literally says “but the campaign against #ISIS is not over”. The context is Syria, so I assume she’s not speaking more broadly. And if the campaign against ISIS isn’t over, it stands to reason that they aren’t bringing all the troops home as the reporting suggested this morning. But she doesn’t get specific about any of this really, so it’s hard to know.
Maybe the Pentagon is ‘clarifying’ Trump’s tweet? Or maybe the Pentagon is publicly disagreeing with the president to twist his arm? I would hope the former, but I said I don’t know.
What do you think?