"...in my great and unmatched wisdom..."
Prominent lawmakers in both parties admonished the White House on Monday for its controversial decision to allow Turkey to invade northern Syria and potentially wipe out U.S.-allied Kurdish fighters, with Republicans hawks and moderates joining with Democrats to blast the move.
“This is a terribly unwise decision by the president to abandon our Kurdish allies, who have been our major partner in the fight against the lslamic State,” Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) told POLITICO. Frequent Trump critic Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) also denounced the move as “a betrayal” which communicates to allies abroad that the U.S. is an unreliable partner. And Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) warned the administration's “bad decision will likely result in the slaughter of allies who fought with us, including women and children.”
In a rare public break with the president, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) criticized the partial pullout on "Fox & Friends," saying the "impulsive decision by the president has undone all the gains we've made [and] thrown the region into further chaos." He added: “I hope I'm making myself clear how shortsighted and irresponsible this decision is in my view.”
Graham, a vocal defender of the president and frequent adviser on matters of foreign policy, predicted the administration's maneuver would ensure a “comeback” of ISIS, force the Kurds to align themselves with Syrian President Bashar Assad and Iran, damage the relationship between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government and Congress, and become “a stain on America’s honor for abandoning the Kurds.”
He also threatened to introduce a Senate resolution opposing the administration's decision, and accused the White House of being dishonest about the nature of the ISIS threat.
“I don’t know all the details regarding President Trump’s decision in northern Syria,” Graham tweeted, adding that he was in the process of scheduling a phone call with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and warning: “If press reports are accurate, this is a disaster in the making.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) both blasted the dramatic policy shift in statements Monday afternoon, with Pelosi urging Trump to “reverse this dangerous decision” and McConnell advising the president to “exercise American leadership.”
“A precipitous withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria would only benefit Russia, Iran, and the Assad regime,” and would “increase the risk” of reorganization by ISIS and other terrorist groups, the Senate leader said.
The bipartisan backlash against the president comes as Trump is facing an impeachment inquiry by House Democrats over his attempt to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden. Republicans have largely supported the president as Democratic lawmakers have launched proceedings to remove him from office. Yet the White House’s Syria announcement creates a rift between Trump and the GOP at a time when he needs as much party unity as possible.
Trump sought to quell dissent later Monday, tweeting that he was elected to end America’s “endless wars” and threatening Turkey. “As I have stated strongly before, and just to reiterate, if Turkey does anything that I, in my great and unmatched wisdom, consider to be off limits, I will totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey (I’ve done before!),” he wrote online.