Fallout continued on Saturday days after Donald Trump announced a sudden and reckless withdrawal of all U.S. troops in Syria, hanging American military members out to dry.
According to CBS News, “Brett McGurk, special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, had been planning to exit his post in February 2019. But sources tell CBS News that he informed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that he will accelerate his departure due to a strong disagreement with President Trump‘s snap decision to withdraw 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria, effectively abandoning U.S. allies in the region.”
The report notes that following Trump‘s snap decision via Twitter to pull troops from Syria, there is more uncertainty than ever in the region.
More from the stunning CBS News report:
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McGurk submitted his resignation on Friday, just one day after Defense Secretary James Mattis quit his post citing fundamental disagreements with the commander-in-chief — including one over the importance of honoring U.S. alliances.
The special envoy was publicly left in the lurch by the president’s sudden declaration on Wednesday that he was pulling U.S. forces out of Syria, against the advice of his top national security advisers and without consulting U.S. allies.
As leader of the counter ISIS mission, McGurk had been in the region to meet with coalition partners including Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani last week when Mr. Trump made his sudden decision to pull U.S. support.
Trump’s instability is putting U.S. troops in danger
Donald Trump‘s growing instability at home over Robert Mueller‘s special counsel investigation is pushing him to make increasingly reckless decisions.
In the case of his move to rapidly withdraw from Syria without even bringing in the Pentagon and U.S. allies, Trump is putting U.S. troops in danger and further advancing the interests of American adversaries like Russia and Iran.
As Rachel Maddow said after Trump‘s sudden announcement, “U.S. troops and their families (don’t) expect to have their safety and their lives just batted around like it doesn’t matter.”
The president’s decision on Syria likely won’t be an isolated incident. It led to the resignation of Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and now the special envoy leading the fight against ISIS. There could be more military officials who follow suit.
These abrupt resignations will only mean Trump is surrounded by fewer “adults,” leading to more decisions that further isolate allies, endanger U.S. troops and embolden American enemies.
Donald Trump is only going to get more dangerous.
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Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
