Army National Guard captain: US withdrawal from Syria ‘immoral’ and ‘un-American’

Alan Kennedy, a captain in the Colorado Army National Guard who spent the summer serving in northern Syria, said in a recent video that President Trump’s removal of U.S. troops from the region is “immoral” and “un-American.”

“Weeks ago, our commander in chief announced he was pulling our last troops out of the region,” Kennedy told The New York Times in a video published Friday. “Ever since, I haven’t been able to sleep at night.”

“Our complete withdrawal from Syria is unstrategic, immoral and ultimately un-American,” he said, adding, “I can’t believe President Trump let this happen. … I strongly believe the president’s decision may prolong a war, rather than end it.”{mosads}

While echoing Trump’s sentiment that the U.S. should “end endless wars,” Kennedy said we do so “by building and maintaining alliances, by creating a peace process than maintains stability in the region and supporting our allies.” He referenced his meetings with Kurdish allies who joined American troops in fighting against ISIS forces in the region.

“I met a Kurdish fighter who asked me if the U.S. would ever leave Syria. I reassured him, ‘Of course the U.S. would never leave Syria and abandon the Kurds.’ They’re our partners,” Kennedy said. “I was wrong.”

The U.S. withdrawal from northern Syria is immoral and un-American, says this national guard captain https://t.co/9FtV2LaOCR pic.twitter.com/Clq3f3WMGt

— New York Times Opinion (@nytopinion) October 19, 2019

Trump has faced backlash from lawmakers and service members after the White House abruptly announced earlier this month that U.S. troops would be pulled from northern Syria — a move that both GOP and Democratic critics say paved the way for Turkey to launch a military offensive against the Kurds in the area, abandoning forces that helped the U.S. fight ISIS.

Trump administration officials touted what they called a victory after Vice President Pence announced Thursday that the U.S. and Turkey had reached a cease-fire to suspend Ankara’s incursion into northern Syria, but Turkey’s foreign minister later said the agreement was “not a cease-fire.”