IMF sees growth ahead for Algeria    Egyptian pound inches down in early July 1 trading    Madbouly represents Egypt at 4th UN Conference on Financing for Development in Seville    Bloody escalation in Gaza amid warnings of humanitarian, health catastrophe    Egypt, Iran FMs discuss Gaza truce, nuclear talks revival    Egypt's Environment Minister calls for stronger action on desertification, climate resilience in Africa    Egypt in diplomatic push for Gaza truce, Iran-Israel de-escalation    Peace is not imposed by bombing… nor achieved by normalisation peoples reject: Al-Sisi    Spinneys Opens A New Store in Hurghada    Egypt to launch new dialysis filter factory in July, covering 65% of domestic demand    Egypt teams up with private sector to boost university rankings    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Egypt leverages diplomacy to advance global health partnerships    Egypt to toughen truck safety rules following fatal Ring Road accident    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Egypt condemns deadly terrorist attack in Niger    Egypt, Tunisia discuss boosting healthcare cooperation    Egypt's commodity reserves "very reassuring", some stocks sufficient for 9 months — trade chief    Egypt's FM, China's Wang discuss Iran-Israel escalation    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt's GAH, Spain's Konecta discuss digital health partnership    Grand Egyptian Museum opening delayed to Q4    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Egypt discovers three New Kingdom tombs in Luxor's Dra' Abu El-Naga    Egypt launches "Memory of the City" app to document urban history    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    Egypt's Democratic Generation Party Evaluates 84 Candidates Ahead of Parliamentary Vote    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Cabinet approves establishment of national medical tourism council to boost healthcare sector    Egypt's PM follows up on Julius Nyerere dam project in Tanzania    Egypt's FM inspects Julius Nyerere Dam project in Tanzania    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



U.S. Trump defends Syria pullout, condemned by House in bipartisan vote
Published in Amwal Al Ghad on 17 - 10 - 2019

President Donald Trump on Wednesday defended as strategically brilliant his decision to pull US troops out of Syria as the House of Representatives overwhelmingly condemned the move in a rare bipartisan rebuke.
A total of 129 members of Trump's Republican Party joined Democrats as the House denounced the withdrawal of US troops from northern Syria in a 354-60 vote.
The joint resolution called on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to immediately halt military operations against Kurdish militants in Syria.
In a sign of Trump's deteriorating relationship with Congress, where the House is conducting an impeachment inquiry, Democratic House speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate minority leader Charles Schumer walked out of what they said was an acrimonious White House meeting with Trump.
Schumer said Trump had called Pelosi a “third-rate politician” while the speaker said the president had experienced a “meltdown.”
Trump then took to Twitter, accusing Pelosi of having her own “meltdown,” while adding that the Democratic leader “needs help fast!”
“There is either something wrong with her ‘upstairs,' or she just plain doesn't like our great Country,” the president wrote.
Faced with mounting bipartisan criticism in Washington over the abrupt pullout of US forces from Syria, Trump denied he had given Erdogan a “green light” to launch operations against the Kurds.
“President Erdogan's decision didn't surprise me because he's wanted to do that for a long time,” Trump told reporters earlier in the day at the White House. “He's been building up troops on the border with Syria for a long time.”
The US president disparaged the Kurdish allies he abandoned in the face of the Turkish offensive, saying they were “not angels,” as well as his Republican critics at home.
“I didn't give him a green light,” Trump said of a telephone conversation he held with Erdogan prior to the Turkish incursion. “Just the opposite of a green light.
“I wrote a letter right after that conversation, a very powerful letter,” he said.
In the letter dated October 9, Trump told Erdogan “you don't want to be responsible for slaughtering thousands” of people and urged him not to be a “tough guy” or a “fool.”
“History will look upon you favorably if you get this done the right and humane way,” Trump wrote.
Trump emphasized to reporters that US troops were out of harm's way and that the fallout from the US withdrawal was for Syria, Turkey and Russia to work out among themselves.
“I view the situation on the Turkish border with Syria to be, for the United States, strategically brilliant,” Trump said. “Our soldiers are out of there, our soldiers are totally safe. They've got to work it out.
“Turkey has gone into Syria. If Turkey goes into Syria, that's between Turkey and Syria — it's not between Turkey and the United States, like a lot of stupid people would like you to believe,” he said.
Trump spoke as Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo prepared to travel to Turkey to try to persuade Erdogan to halt the offensive.
Trump expressed confidence that US nuclear weapons stored at Turkey's Incirlik air base were secure, despite flaring tensions between Ankara and its NATO allies over the Syrian incursion.
And he minimized the escape of Islamic State fighters who had been held by the Kurds as an attempt to “make us look like, ‘Oh, gee, we have to get right back in there.'”
Critics have warned their escape gives the jihadists an opportunity to regroup after having lost their caliphate in Syria to US forces and their Kurdish allies. The UN Security Council on Wednesday adopted a unanimous statement warning of the risk of a jihadist “dispersion” in the region.
As for the Kurds, Trump said they “know how to fight and as I said, they aren't angels. They are not angels if you take a look.”
Trump said the Kurdish rebel PKK, who have waged a decades-long insurgency against Ankara, were “probably” a bigger terror threat than the Islamic State group.
“The PKK, which is a part of the Kurds, as you know, is probably worse at terror and more of a terrorist threat in many ways than ISIS,” he said.
Trump lashed out at critics of his withdrawal decision, particularly Senator Lindsey Graham, an influential Republican who has been a staunch defender of the president.
“Lindsey Graham would like to stay in the Middle East for the next thousand years with thousands of soldiers fighting other people's wars,” Trump said. “I want to get out of the Middle East.”
“Let them fight their own wars,” he said. “They've been fighting for a thousand years.”
Graham shot right back, in comments to US reporters, that Trump was making “the biggest mistake of his presidency” in Syria.
Source: Reuters


Clic here to read the story from its source.