This was a mistake.
Of course, I understand the incentives of leaving: bringing soldiers home, freeing up troops to fight elsewhere, and a better relationship with Turkey. But are those positives really worth such a sudden departure?
Here’s the thing: in this particular situation, the cons of leaving Syria far outweigh the pros. Thanks to a certain president and his administration, the US is already standing shakily on the world stage. Pulling out without consulting allies (and not even the Pentagon!) doesn’t exactly make America look like a reliable country, to say the least. To go even further, announcing the move in a tweet – “WE WILL FIGHT WHERE IT IS TO OUR BENEFIT, AND ONLY FIGHT TO WIN” – doesn’t really scream sound like something a wise and peaceful leader would do, does it? Is it not important for our president to care about the well-being of the whole world, not just his own country?
Oh, and here’s the kicker: staying in Syria actually does benefit the US! We were fighting on the side of the Kurds, who were helping us battle ISIS. They’ve been our allies– how could we abandon them? Without our powerful army presence, the Islamic State will seize the opportunity to grow.
In the most recent Democratic Debate on CNN, Senator Kamala Harris stated that the only winners of our pullout are Russia, ISIS, and Iran. The losers of this are us, not them. And with a president so obsessed with winning, you’d think he’d have more strategy while playing the game.
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