This archive report was first published on 7 October 2019.
Published on October 7, 2019, US President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw US forces from Syria has sparked rare bipartisan outrage among decision makers in Washington.
Trump defended the move in tweets, stating that it was part of his longstanding wish to end US military entanglements in the Middle East, which he branded as 'ridiculous Endless Wars.'
The US pullout from Turkish border areas will allow Ankara to launch cross-border operations, weakening the US hand in the broader chess game of Syria's civil war.
Senator Lindsey Graham, the Republican chairman of the upper house's judiciary committee, called the move 'a disaster in the making' and 'a stain on America's honor.'
Republican Senator Marco Rubio also criticized the decision, stating that it would encourage Iran to 'escalate hostile attacks.'
Trump's announcement followed closely on from a call from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has long pushed for a green light to attack Kurdish militias on the Syrian side of the border.
