Growing backlash in US to Trump's Syrian pullback

US President Donald Trump’s decision not to defend the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) from Turkish military attacks has united Republican and Democratic lawmakers against him.

US troops patrol in the Syrian border town of Ras al-Ayn on 6 October, the day their withdrawal was announced by Donald Trump. (Delil Souleiman/AFP via Getty Images )

Trump decided to withdraw about 50 US troops from northeast Syria in anticipation of Ankara launching a military offensive in the region targeting Kurdish fighters who have helped the United States fight the Islamic State (also known as ISIS or Daish). Lawmakers from both parties are now calling Trump’s decision a disaster and a misstep that will shake ally trust for years to come.

“It would be a grave mistake for Turkey to send its military forces into Syria provoking hostilities with the Syrian Democratic Forces,” Representative Mac Thornberry, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, wrote in a 7 October statement. “It would also be a grave mistake for the US to unilaterally withdraw from Syria or to acquiesce in any way to a Turkish invasion. The consequences of these decisions will be severe and lasting for the Middle East and for the rest of the world.”