‘THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT’: Trump Rages Against U.S. Intervention in Syria
The president-elect also took a dig at former President Barack Obama’s foreign policy promises.
Oleg Nikishin/Getty Images
President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday raged against any U.S. military involvement in Syria—and took a potshot at former President Barack Obama—as rebels broached the outskirts of the country’s capital city.
The Syrian government, led by President Bashar al-Assad, has been engaged in a 13-year struggle to suppress domestic uprisings sparked by discontent with the authoritarian leader.
With the conflict seemingly poised to boil over in Damascus, America’s president-elect offered his first detailed public remarks on the situation in a characteristically emphatic post on Truth Social.
Trump noted that Russia, a longtime ally of Syria, seemed incapable of stopping a “literal march through Syria” because they are “so tied up in Ukraine, and with the loss there of over 600,000 soldiers.”
Trump himself has long drawn concern over his close personal alliance with Russia and President Valdimir Putin. He argued in his post that Assad being overthrown—and the prospect of Russia ceasing operations in Syria—could benefit the European giant.
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“It may actually be the best thing that can happen to them,” he wrote, suggesting that Russia was only involved in Syria because of Obama’s infamous 2013 “red line” retreat, when the then-president failed to follow through on his threat that the U.S. would intervene if Assad used chemical weapons.
Russia began offering military support to Assad in 2015 after the Syrian leader’s forces were stretched thin.
Assad has led a 13-year effort to suppress rebels who oppose his authoritarian rule.
ATP Images/Getty Images
“There was never much of a benefit in Syria for Russia, other than to make Obama look really stupid,” Trump wrote.
“In any event, Syria is a mess, but is not our friend, & THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT,” he added. “THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET IT PLAY OUT. DO NOT GET INVOLVED!”
Although President Joe Biden’s administration has indicated it is keeping a close eye on Syria, the U.S. is not backing the rebel offensive and gave no indication of offering military support to the effort, according to the Associated Press.
According to AP, the U.S. currently has around 900 troops in Syria to support Kurdish allies as a preventative measure against a resurgence of Islamic State.
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