President Donald Trump spoke at length about the sense of urgency to move troops out of the Middle East on Saturday, defending his decision not to defend the Kurds from Turkish aggression in Syria.
“These wars, they never end,” Trump said. “And we have to bring our great soldiers back from the never-ending wars.”
The president spoke to his supporters at a Value Voter Summit in Washington, DC, acknowledging the difficulty of the ongoing conflict in Syria.
Trump argued that the contested area in Syria was only about 22 miles of borderland in Turkey, and that the Kurds had been fighting the conflict for years.
Watch: Travis Kelce Takes Massive Slap to the Face Mid-Game
Two Men Who Murdered Teen in ‘Satanic Ritual’ Granted Parole, Were Found Guilty After ‘Sacrificing’ a Virgin
Knife-wielding man slashes NYPD officer in face with 14-inch blade, police shoot him dead in pursuit
Serial killer claims he murdered 26 women as new documentary reveals dark secrets
California Dems Kill Bill Backed by Jay Leno That Would Have Exempted Classic Cars from Emissions Regulations
Another ‘Maryland Man’ Accused of Murdering 19-Year-Old American Woman
Russia damages Ukrainian government building in largest attack since war began
Ohio donors ditch Tim Ryan, pour nearly $220K into Vivek Ramaswamy’s governor bid
Pope declares 15-year-old computer programmer Carlo Acutis first millennial saint
OnlyFans boom on college campuses sparks concern as more students turn to platform for fast cash
Watch: Suspect Flees Traffic Stop, Doesn’t Make it Far Before K-9 Catches Up
South Korea reaches deal with US to release workers detained after immigration raid
CA Voter Illegally Registered Her Dog, Cast Its Ballot: Now She’s Facing Justice
Japanese prime minister resigns after party suffered historic defeat in summer election
Trump nominees pile up as GOP weighs rule shift once floated by Democrats
“Let them have their borders,” he said, referring to Turkey, “But I don’t think that our soldiers should be there for the next 50 years guarding a border between Turkey and Syria when we can’t guard our own borders at home.”
The crowd applauded Trump’s remarks, especially when he reminded them that the Islamic State was defeated in the Middle East.
“We killed ISIS, we did our job, we have to go home,” he said, as the crowd applauded.
Trump revealed he was ready to withdraw troops from the Middle East when ISIS was only 98 percent defeated, but that the foreign policy establishment was highly critical of the idea.
“The military-industrial complex came down on me, so I went to get 100 percent,” he said.
Trump was critical of his “Washington generals” for their repeated assertions that certain conflicts in the Middle East would be wrapped up soon.
Watch: Travis Kelce Takes Massive Slap to the Face Mid-Game
Two Men Who Murdered Teen in ‘Satanic Ritual’ Granted Parole, Were Found Guilty After ‘Sacrificing’ a Virgin
Knife-wielding man slashes NYPD officer in face with 14-inch blade, police shoot him dead in pursuit
Serial killer claims he murdered 26 women as new documentary reveals dark secrets
California Dems Kill Bill Backed by Jay Leno That Would Have Exempted Classic Cars from Emissions Regulations
Another ‘Maryland Man’ Accused of Murdering 19-Year-Old American Woman
Russia damages Ukrainian government building in largest attack since war began
Ohio donors ditch Tim Ryan, pour nearly $220K into Vivek Ramaswamy’s governor bid
Pope declares 15-year-old computer programmer Carlo Acutis first millennial saint
OnlyFans boom on college campuses sparks concern as more students turn to platform for fast cash
Watch: Suspect Flees Traffic Stop, Doesn’t Make it Far Before K-9 Catches Up
South Korea reaches deal with US to release workers detained after immigration raid
CA Voter Illegally Registered Her Dog, Cast Its Ballot: Now She’s Facing Justice
Japanese prime minister resigns after party suffered historic defeat in summer election
Trump nominees pile up as GOP weighs rule shift once floated by Democrats
“They’re overrated,” he said, praising instead the generals who were actually deployed overseas.
Trump said he frequently felt alone in his fight to bring the troops home, but felt that he was on the right path.
“Now I’m sort of an island of one again, but now it’s maybe happening again,” Trump said.
He recalled in detail what it was like to be at the Dover Air Force Base with the families of soldiers who lost their lives overseas.
Trump said that despite the bravery and strength shown by family members and loved ones, they usually broke down when the flag-draped coffin came out of the cargo plane.
“You would hear the screams and cries like you’ve never heard before actually,” he said.
Trump recalled a colonel once told him that sometimes a wife or a mother would break through the military line and throw themselves on the coffin after it emerged from the plane and express their sorrow.
“We’ve been in these wars now, one of them 19 years, and we don’t fight to win, we fight to just stay there,” he said.
Trump said he hoped that the Kurds would withdraw from the border areas of Syria next to Turkey, rather than fight their forces.
“No matter what we did the media will say it’s the wrong decision, I see it, it makes no difference,” he said.
Watch: Travis Kelce Takes Massive Slap to the Face Mid-Game
Two Men Who Murdered Teen in ‘Satanic Ritual’ Granted Parole, Were Found Guilty After ‘Sacrificing’ a Virgin
Knife-wielding man slashes NYPD officer in face with 14-inch blade, police shoot him dead in pursuit
Serial killer claims he murdered 26 women as new documentary reveals dark secrets
California Dems Kill Bill Backed by Jay Leno That Would Have Exempted Classic Cars from Emissions Regulations
Another ‘Maryland Man’ Accused of Murdering 19-Year-Old American Woman
Russia damages Ukrainian government building in largest attack since war began
Ohio donors ditch Tim Ryan, pour nearly $220K into Vivek Ramaswamy’s governor bid
Pope declares 15-year-old computer programmer Carlo Acutis first millennial saint
OnlyFans boom on college campuses sparks concern as more students turn to platform for fast cash
Watch: Suspect Flees Traffic Stop, Doesn’t Make it Far Before K-9 Catches Up
South Korea reaches deal with US to release workers detained after immigration raid
CA Voter Illegally Registered Her Dog, Cast Its Ballot: Now She’s Facing Justice
Japanese prime minister resigns after party suffered historic defeat in summer election
Trump nominees pile up as GOP weighs rule shift once floated by Democrats
The president repeated that going into the Middle East was the worst decision ever made by the United States, noting the expensive war and the loss of life over weapons of mass destruction that did not exist.
“We don’t want to be in 19-year wars where we serve as the police force of the entire country,” Trump said, referring to the war in Afghanistan.
Story cited here.
