Moulton Statement on Northern Syria Withdrawal
“ ‘We’ve got your back,’ these are words every American veteran knows; we say that to one another, and we say it to our allies. But Trump says it to our enemies: Putin, Assad and Kim Jong-Un. Now he’s giving up our Kurdish allies--who’ve been some of the toughest fighters in Iraq for three decades--because an authoritarian Turkish president, more aligned with Russia than U.S. allies, asked him for a favor. This decision will embolden Russia, Iran, ISIS, Syria and our other enemies in the region and around the globe by showing them that America doesn’t keep its promises, doesn’t stand up for our friends, and follows the whims of a Commander in Chief who doesn’t know a thing about serving his country.”
Background
Moulton has used his position as a member of the House Committee on Armed Services and Vice Chair of the House Budget Committee to question top U.S. defense officials about the Trump Administration’s lack of strategy in Syria and whether the former Secretary of Defense, Jim Mattis, was wrong to disagree with President Trump’s sudden plan to withdraw U.S. military from Syria in December 2018.