Trump Shocks American EverWar Establishment With Plans to Take American Troops Out of Syria

Donald Trump was no longer hiding when returning to Washington from his secret trip to the Middle East.

Donald Trump was no longer hiding when returning to Washington from his secret trip to the Middle East. And only Melania's pants resembled something like camo pants. It seemed like the first lady wasn't wearing any. It was an optical effect. For the presidential couple, this was the first experience of visiting a war zone.

 

"Mr. President, how was your trip to Iraq?"

At Al Asad Airbase, Trump wished a Merry Christmas to the servicemen and confirmed that American troops were leaving Syria.

Donald Trump: "America shouldn’t be doing the fighting for every nation on earth, not being reimbursed in many cases at all. If they want us to do the fighting, they also have to pay a price. And sometimes that’s also a monetary price, so we’re not the suckers of the world. We’re no longer the suckers, folks. And people aren’t looking at us as suckers".

The sole decision of the US President to withdraw troops from Syria shocked generals and politicians in Washington. They even started talking about a betrayal of national interests.

Chris Coons, US Congress Senator, Democrat: "For me, this is an absolutely clear signal when foreign policy decisions are made which are supported by Vladimir Putin and Rand Paul. This is a good sign that the idea is bad. At the inter-party level, members of the Senate urge President Trump to reconsider this decision".

They resist Trump's decision as much as they can. Senator Marco Rubio, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said that they've managed to only slow down the sudden withdrawal of the troops so far.

Marco Rubio, US Congress Senator, Republican: "In Syria, negotiations will be conducted on the post-war order. But there isn't a seat for the US at that negotiating table. All will be decided by Turkey, Russia, Iran, and Assad — all those who in no way take our interests into account."

There are very few politicians who supported Trump. Senator Rand Paul is among them. He calls for being realistic about the events taking place in the Arab Republic.

Rand Paul, US Congress Senator, Republican: "Russia is a big player in the world arena. If we do not coordinate our actions on Syria, we'll never come to a decision. Iran is a player, and we should also have a dialogue on Syria with it. And we can’t ignore Assad. He won the war. And these people hide their heads in the sand and are pondering over a possible big war in the region with the participation of Russia and Iran. And it will be a huge mistake. I don't think that Americans want another war."

It's not only about Syria. The US President is thinking of halving the contingent in Afghanistan from 14 to 7 thousand servicemen. Thus, in this matter, Trump, who is often unpredictable, is just being true to himself. His earlier statements turned out to be not mere words, but an action plan.

Donald Trump: "My original instinct told me that we should withdraw the troops. Historically, I like following my instincts".

But the financial instincts of the Chairman of the US Federal Reserve, according to Trump, are good for nothing. Jerome Powell commands the omnipotent regulator. The US President blamed him for the recent drops in the stock market. Experts began to talk about December's drop, which was the worst drop since the Great Depression.

Maneuvering between a possible recession and an overheating economy, the Fed raised the interest rate four times this year. Obtaining credit has become more expensive. According to the calculations of Deutsche Bank, this year, 90% of various assets were unprofitable for investors. Last year, they weren't over 1%.

Secretary of the Treasury Mnuchin was also criticized by Donald Trump. As a result, rumors about resignations in the Treasury and the Fed heightened the political tensions even more. The political clinch in Washington increased tensions, too. Trump refuses to sign the country's budget until lawmakers allocate $5 billion to complete the wall at the border with Mexico. But the Democrats are against the project.

As a result, without a budget signed, the government has gone into a partial shutdown mode. This affected 800,000 officials and state contractors. Now their salaries are frozen and many tourist facilities have been shut down. More agencies will be shut down after the beginning of next year. Although the money is usually compensated to employees, now nobody can say when funding will be resumed, because there isn't a hint of compromise between the politicians. Trump is raising the stakes. He threatened to close the border with Mexico if he isn't given the money to build the wall.

Meanwhile, in America's overcrowded immigration detention camps, a second child has died. At first, the authorities said that 8-year-old Felipe Gómez Alonzo from Guatemala died of a cold, now they say that it was the flu. Prior to that, a 7-year-old girl died in a camp.

"Any deaths of children or others at the border are strictly the fault of the Democrats and their pathetic immigration policies that allow people to make the long trek thinking they can enter our country illegally. They can't. If we had a wall, they wouldn't even try!"

Dick Durbin, Senator: "He says that this is a question of border security. No, this is a question of the political danger that threatens Trump himself".

Everything will only get tougher for the US President. At the beginning of January, the new Congress will go to work, where the Democrats have the majority in the lower house. So there will be even more attacks on Trump. He should not just fight them back but demonstrate his achievements. The 2020 presidential election campaign will begin tacitly in 2019.

Alexander Khristenko, Nikolai Koskin for Vesti News of the Week from Washington, USA.