More Fallout: Top U.S. Envoy in ISIS Fight Resigns in Protest

Last updated on: December 22, 2018 at 12:57 pm by Susan Wright

More Fallout: Top U.S. Envoy in ISIS Fight Resigns in Protest 2018-12-22T12:57:00-05:00 Susan Wright

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Well, it isn’t just Secretary of Defense James Mattis that has grown tired of the incompetence and ill-advised moves from the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

On Thursday, Mattis met with President Trump, in an attempt to talk some sanity into the hay haired mountebank, in regards to his sudden decision to withdraw American troops from Syria.

Reports are that the president did not listen to his generals or advisers before announcing on Twitter that he would be abandoning our allies in the region – the Kurds – to fight or fall to ISIS on their own. Neither did he inform our allies of his decision. They found out about it in the tweet.

In his tweet, Trump declared ISIS defeated, in spite of evidence that suggests that while significantly degraded, the bloodthirsty terrorist organization are far from gone. A draw down of U.S forces will give them room to regroup and grow again in the region. It would make all the work done, and those lives lost, both American and of our allies, for nothing.

It turns out, Trump made his decision after a call from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The move was also greatly praised by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who benefits by having U.S. forces out of the area.

Mattis attempted to point out this betrayal of our allies, and how they would never have a reason to trust the United States again, but President Trump has only shown a willingness to insult and alienate our allies in his first two years of the presidency. It is our geopolitical foes – the despots – that command Trump’s admiration and loyalty. He no longer listens to his generals or takes good counsel.

It is not hyperbole to suggest we are a nation in crisis, due to gross negligence and incompetence at the highest level of our government.

Mattis resigned in protest on Thursday, and his resignation letter was a stern and thorough rebuke of everything that is Trumpism.

On Friday, Brett McGurk, special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, also called it quits, in protest.

McGurk, who had originally planned to exit in February 2019, informed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that he was out. He could not see remaining a part of an administration that abandons its allies to certain ruin.

Basically, Trump made McGurk look like a sucker.

Only days before, McGurk spoke to the press from the State Department podium, assuring our allies that they were in good hands, and that our plans were to continue on in what has been a successful mission.

“I think it’s fair to say Americans will remain on the ground after the physical defeat of the caliphate, until we have the pieces in place to ensure that that defeat is enduring.”

McGurk went on to say, “it would be reckless if we were just to say, well, the physical caliphate is defeated, so we can just leave now. I think anyone who’s looked at a conflict like this would agree with that.”

But Trump.

McGurk had no way of knowing how quickly Trump would make him look like a liar.

Really, he had no way of foreseeing this. Trump’s own administration policy called for staying in the region, to serve as a stabilizing force, until that time when Iran removed its militias.

It was a really nice Christmas gift for Iran and Russia.

McGurk has led U.S. efforts to counter the influence of ISIS on the battlegrounds of Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and beyond since 2015. He was one of the few Obama appointees asked by the Trump team to remain in his post. Prior to that, he served in the Bush administration.

He’ll finish up on December 31, with plans to take a position with Stanford this spring.

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