Alwaght- The US Senate has supported an amendment opposing President Donald Trump’s plans for US troops' pullout from Syria and Afghanistan, saying that such moves will benefit Russia and Iran.
The senators voted 70-26 in favor of the non-binding and largely symbolic amendment on Monday, which disputed Trump’s claims about defeating ISIS and said the terrorist group still posed a “serious threat” to the US mainland.
Upon announcing his plans to evacuate Syria and drastically reduce troop levels in Afghanistan in December, Trump said he was returning American soldiers home in a few months because ISIS was no longer a threat.
However, the new amendment, drafted by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, argued that while there had been progress in the fight against Daesh in both Syria and Afghanistan, the Trump administration had more to do in order to ensure the terror outfit’s “enduring defeat.”
It further warned that “a precipitous withdrawal” from the two countries could cause instability in the region and leave behind a vacuum that Iran and Russia would fill.
Trump’s announcement has been met with heavy backlash from both sides of the aisle. It also led retired General Jim Mattis to hand in his resignation as Defense Secretary.
Before the vote on Monday, McConnell said he brought the bill to let senators “speak clearly and directly about the importance of the” missions in Afghanistan and Syria.
Last week, after senators pushed the amendment through, he told reporters: “Withdrawal of the United States forces from the ongoing fight against these groups . . . could allow terrorists to regroup, destabilize critical regions, and create vacuums that could be filled by Iran or Russia, to the detriment of United States’ interests and those of our allies.”
