President Trump made a knee-jerk decision to yank US troops from Syria during a call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that was planned to focus on another issue — stunning both Erdogan and national security adviser John Bolton, who was also on the line.
The extraordinary snap decision, along with Trump’s claim that ISIS had been defeated, shocked Pentagon brass and Republicans at home and allies across the world, who were mystified at the abrupt change in US policy.
The purpose of the Dec. 14 call, arranged by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, was to persuade Erdogan to back off on this threat to attack Syria’s Kurdish fighters, according to a detailed AP report Friday.
But the Turkish president turned the tables on the commander-in-chief, reminding him that he had repeatedly said the only reason US troops were in Syria was to defeat ISIS, and that the terrorists had lost 99 percent of their territory.
“Why are you still there?” Erdogan asked Trump, telling him that the Turks could deal with the remaining ISIS militants, one administration official said.
With Erdogan on the line, Trump turned to Bolton and demanded to know why US troops remained in Syria if what the Turkish president said was true.
Erdogan’s point, Bolton was forced to admit, had been backed up by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Pompeo, US special envoy for Syria Jim Jeffrey and special envoy for the anti-ISIS coalition Brett McGurk, who all had said that ISIS retained just 1 percent of its territory.
Bolton stressed, however, that the entire national security team agreed that victory over ISIS had to be enduring, which meant more than taking away its territory.
But Trump was not impressed, according to the officials, who said the president quickly capitulated to the Turkish strongman by pledging to withdraw, shocking Bolton — and Erdogan.
Caught off guard, Erdogan then cautioned Trump against a hasty withdrawal, noting that while Turkey had made incursions into Syria in the past, it did not have the necessary forces on the border to move in and hold the large swaths of northeastern Syria where US troops are positioned.
The call ended with Trump repeating to Erdogan that the US would pull out, but offering no specifics on how it would be done, leaving top national security officials in shock.
Pompeo, Mattis, Bolton and other members of the national security team had prepared a detailed list of talking points to help Trump tell Erdogan to back off.
“The talking points were very firm,” said one of the officials, explaining that Trump was advised to clearly oppose a Turkish incursion into northern Syria and suggest the US and Turkey work together to address security concerns.
“Everybody said push back and try to offer [Turkey] something that’s a small win, possibly holding territory on the border, something like that.”
But the officials said Trump, who had previously accepted such advice and convinced the Turkish leader not to attack the Kurds and put US troops at risk, ignored the script and caved to Erdogan.
Trump’s decision set off a frantic, four-day scramble to convince the president either to reverse or delay the decision to give the military and Kurdish forces time to prepare for an orderly withdrawal.
Trump, however, was unmoved, they said, and stuck with a decision that prompted the departure of Mattis, who submitted a scathing resignation letter that harshly criticized Trump’s nationalist and isolationist worldview.
US troops first moved into Syria in 2015 to fight ISIS, a year after the Pentagon launched a campaign of airstrikes against the extremists in Iraq and Syria. Local ground forces with close US support slowly pushed back ISIS in the years that followed, and by the beginning of 2018, the extremists had lost nearly all of the territory they once held.
But despite losing its caliphate, up to 30,000 ISIS fighters remain in Iraq and Syria and the group continues to carry out insurgent attacks.
Local commanders warn the group could easily move back into territory it once held if American forces completely withdraw.
Over the weekend, the national security team raced to come up with a plan that would reverse, delay or somehow limit effects of the withdrawal, the officials told the news service.
On Monday, Bolton, Mattis and Pompeo met at the White House to try to plot a middle course.
But they were told by outgoing chief of staff John Kelly and his soon-to-be successor, Mick Mulvaney, that a stubborn Trump was determined to pull out and was not to be delayed or denied.
The trio met again Tuesday morning to try to salvage things, but were again rebuffed.
The White House had wanted to announce the decision Tuesday — and press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders scheduled a rare briefing specifically to announce it.
But the Pentagon convinced Trump to hold off because the withdrawal plans weren’t complete and allies and Congress had not yet been notified, according to the officials.
The first country aside from Turkey to be told of the impending pullout was Israel, the officials said.
Following the official announcement, the White House emphasized that the US would continue to support the fight against IS and remains ready to “re-engage” when needed.
But in a tweet, Trump declared that US troops would no longer be fighting ISIS on behalf of others.
“Time to focus on our Country & bring our youth back home where they belong!” he wrote.
The White House, State Department and Pentagon all declined to comment on the account of the withdrawal decision.
With Post wires