“I will credit it to myself”: how the withdrawal of troops from the north of Syria may affect Trump’s internal political positions

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a resolution condemning the withdrawal of US troops from northern Syria. 354 congressmen voted for the document, 60 against. At the same time, the actions of Donald Trump and the majority of the Republican Party representatives - 129 people were condemned.

The resolution emphasizes that Congress "opposes the decision to stop certain United States efforts to prevent Turkey’s military operation against Syrian Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria" and "calls on the United States to continue to support Syrian Kurdish communities through the provision of humanitarian assistance, including to displaced people persons or otherwise affected by ongoing violence in Syria. ”

In addition, American congressmen called on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to immediately cease hostilities in Syria, and they demanded a plan from the White House to combat IS *.

• USA congress
• © George Rose / Getty Images News

Recall that on October 7 it became known about the withdrawal of US troops from the Turkish-Syrian border. Two days later, Ankara launched a military operation in Syria, called the “Source of Peace”. On October 13, US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper announced that the United States would withdraw about a thousand more troops from northern Syria.

American fears

Trump's new course towards Syria has met with fierce criticism from the American establishment. At the debate on the eve of the Democratic presidential candidates, they all condemned the president’s decision as one.

Even representatives of the left wing of the party, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Tulsi Gabbard, who themselves had previously advocated ending the US military intervention abroad, opposed it.

However, Warren and Gabbard primarily accused Trump of betraying the Syrian Kurds, and a Sanders headquarters spokesman said the Democrats needed to develop a doctrine of “responsible” withdrawal of their military from conflict zones.

Former US Vice President Joe Biden, who has long been considered the leader of the Democratic race, but is now beginning to give way to Warren, said that the withdrawal of US troops from northern Syria will lead to the revival of the Islamic State. According to Biden, "this is the most shameful decision ever made by the American president."

Writer Stephen King joined the chorus of critics of the American president. The author of the horror and a well-known opponent of the current president of the United States commented on reports of the appearance of the Russian military police in the territories where the American bases once stood.

“The USA is leaving, Russia is coming. You can continue to prove that Trump does not work for Putin, ”the King of Horrors wrote on Twitter.

US out, Russia in. Tell me Trump isn't working for Putin.

Refused to support Trump and prominent Republicans. Over the past two weeks, Utah Senator and former presidential candidate Mitt Romney, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Legal Committee Chairman, Lindsey Graham Head of the Armed Forces Committee, Jim Inhofe, influential Senators Marco, have reacted negatively to the withdrawal of troops from northern Syria Rubio, Ted Cruz, the head of the Republicans in the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy and several other senators and congressmen of a lower rank.

Former president George W. Bush also joined them. The initiator of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to The Wasington Post journalist Josh Rogin, said that Trump's policy threatens world peace.

George W Bush takes a direct shot at Trump: “An isolationist United States is destabilizing around the world. We are becoming isolationist and that's dangerous for the sake of peace. ”

"The Beginning of the End for Trump"

The first violin in the orchestra of critics of the new Syrian politics of trump is now played by Senator Lindsey Graham. He has repeatedly supported Trump's initiatives, but now he threatens to turn his back on the president.

• Lindsey graham
• © Joshua Roberts / Reuters

The day before, speaking on CBN, the senator promised that if the president does not change his decision, then he will become Trump’s “worst nightmare”.

“President Trump, if you listen to this interview, (I want to say. - RT ) that if you withdraw our entire contingent from Syria, you will abandon the Kurds, ISIS will return while you are in power, and Iran will take control and then you, my friend, are in great danger of losing the election, ”the senator threatened Trump.

A similar opinion was previously expressed by former Assistant Secretary of State Philip Crowley. In an article for the BBC entitled “Syria May Be the Beginning of the End for Trump,” former Barack Obama administration official said withdrawing troops from Syria could “cost” the president victory in the 2020 election.

According to a survey by the YouGov sociological service commissioned by The Economist magazine on October 13-15, 52% of Americans oppose the withdrawal of troops from northern Syria. 28% were in favor. At the same time, most of the Republican Party supporters (57%) support the president’s decision, and among those who voted for him in 2016, such as 62%. Speaking generally about the president’s policy towards Syria, 69% of all Republicans and 74% of those who previously voted for Trump support the White House’s current approach.

However, according to HSE professor Alexander Domrin, there is reason to not trust these sociological calculations, since the survey can be manipulative in nature. The question asked by the respondents was: “Do you approve of Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw American troops from the area near the Syrian-Turkish border, which led to the fact that the Syrian Kurds fighting against ISIS remained defenseless before the Turkish military attack?” The wording itself led respondents to a negative answer.

“American sociological agencies completely discredited themselves even with their forecasts during the 2016 election campaign,” Domrin said in an interview with RT. “They do not study public opinion, but help shape it.”

At the same time, the expert admits that US residents have been brought up on the idea of ​​American superiority for decades, so the withdrawal of troops may be painful for many.

In addition, experts note that the position of leading American media could influence public sentiment. All this time, screaming headlines appeared in them that Trump brought a “gift” to Vladimir Putin by withdrawing troops from the north of Syria, and courageous American military and “veterans” of the war with ISIS condemned the “treacherous” policy of the president.

“We need to separate the establishment, the foreign policy elites and the American people,” said Eduard Lozansky, president of the American University in Moscow, in an interview with RT. - The establishment considers it necessary that America can project its forces around the globe. But ordinary citizens are worried about the country's internal problems. But some of them are influenced by the media. ”

United front

According to experts, the fact that representatives of both the republican and the democratic establishment have taken up arms against Trump is not surprising.

“This is the very establishment that from the very beginning did not want to see Trump as president,” says Eduard Lozansky. - Trump promised that he would withdraw America from the wars, but so far he has not succeeded because of the resistance of this very establishment. And now, on the eve of a new campaign, he realizes that he must fulfill his promise, otherwise his voters will stop believing him. ”

According to Alexander Domrin, despite criticism from the republican camp, the American president is unlikely to prefer his loyal supporters to senators and congressmen, who can turn away from him at any time. Republicans have no alternative to the current owner of the White House.

“All these characters are midgets. Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz fought against Trump in 2016 and lost. Now the Republicans have no other option than to support Trump in the 2020 elections. In this sense, there is no intrigue in the 2020 elections for me. Trump wins, wins confidently. The only intrigue is how much the Democrats will destroy themselves by criticizing Trump, ”the political scientist believes.

• US soldier in Syria
• © US Army

According to Eduard Lozansky, Republican senators and congressmen will continue to support Trump on the issue of impeachment of the president, since this scandal also hits the party itself.

Ultimately, the withdrawal of troops from northern Syria will only benefit the incumbent US president, the political scientist is convinced.

“After some time, all this will be forgotten. And Trump will say that it was he who saved the lives of American soldiers, rescued America from this Middle Eastern boiler. And he will credit it to himself, ”summarizes Lausanne.

* “Islamic State” (IG) - the organization was recognized as terrorist by decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of December 29, 2014.