Sen. Mitt Romney (R., Utah) offered a stinging rebuke of the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw American forces from Syria, telling his colleagues on the Senate floor that the move is “a bloodstain in the annals of American history.”
Romney has emerged as one of President Donald Trump’s fiercest Republican critics in the Senate. His speech on the Senate floor Thursday came just after Vice President Mike Pence and a team of U.S. diplomats announced that they had negotiated a temporary ceasefire in northeast Syria, where Turkish forces have been waging a bloody offensive against America’s Kurdish allies and civilians.
Romney, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, praised the administration’s efforts to negotiate a ceasefire, but said “it is far from a victory” for the president.
“The announcement today is being portrayed as a victory,” he said. “It is far from a victory. Serious questions remain about how the decision was reached to precipitously withdraw from Syria, and why that decision was reached. Given the initial details of the ceasefire agreement, the administration must also explain what America’s future role will be in the region, what happens now to the Kurds, and why Turkey will face no apparent consequences.” – READ MORE