White House:

US Military Withdrawal from Syria Was ‘No Surprise’

TEHRAN (defapress)- The decision of US President Donald Trump to withdraw forces from Syria was met with disapproval in the US Department of Defense, but ordinary US nationals support such a move, Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said.

News ID: 74535

Date: 24 December 2018 - 14:47

“We recognize the fact that this is unpopular within the beltway. We recognize the fact that it’s unpopular within the Defense Department. It’s very popular with ordinary American people,” Mulvaney told Fox News.

The official said that Trump has been working on the troop pullout for two years.

”This was not a snap decision, and it’s not a surprise to anybody because it’s exactly what the president said he was going to do,” Mulvaney added.

Commenting on the resignation of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and other Pentagon officials over disagreements with the troop pullout, Mulvaney said that it is not Trump’s problem that some officials did not support this decision.

On Thursday, Mattis in a resignation letter said he was stepping down at the end of February citing the fact that Trump needed to find a defense chief whose views were more aligned with his own.

Mattis’ resignation came a day after the White House said the United States was withdrawing troops from Syria, the plans which the outgoing defense chief has previously slammed as a “strategic blunder.”

The unexpected move to exit Syria has been widely criticized by many US lawmakers who argued the action would undermine the US security and give away the region to Russia, Iran, and Syria.

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