During a hearing on Tuesday before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Four-Star General Joseph Votel, who has been in charge of US Central Command in the Middle East since the end of President Obama’s tenure, testified that Donald Trump had never consulted with him or his team before making the announcement that he was withdrawing US troops from war-torn Syria.
That is in sharp contrast with Trump’s constant insistence that he always speaks with “his” generals prior to making major military decisions.
At the time of Trump’s announcement in December, many concluded that it was an effort to distract from the high-profile court proceedings involving both his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen and Trump’s former national security advisor Mike Flynn, both of whom cooperated with federal authorities in their investigations against Trump.
That same day, Trump heralded his own victories against the terrorist group ISIS, posting a video to his Twitter feed to drive the point home:
After historic victories against ISIS, it’s time to bring our great young people home! pic.twitter.com/xoNjFzQFTp
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 19, 2018
But in reality, the sudden turn of events actually served to create even more of an uproar from those around the President, from military commanders to members of Congress to even the nation of Israel, who were dismayed to see Trump ostensibly doing the bidding of Vladimir Putin — a man whose goals in Syria reach much further than Donald Trump could ever imagine.
And as far as ISIS is concerned, General Votel did not share Trump’s outlook, saying that the fight is “not over” and that their forces could regroup in the area after US troops are withdrawn. He told Senators on the committee,
I was not aware of the specific announcement. Certainly we are aware that he had expressed a desire and intent in the past to depart Iraq, depart Syria …Â We were not, I was not consulted …Â The fight against ISIS and violent extremists is not over, and our mission has not changed.”
All of this is contrary to Trump’s recent proclamations that the assessments of his military and intelligence commanders had been “taken out of context.”
We have long known that Trump has no interest in following any advice except that of his own whims, but as the testimony of General Votel reveals, that could be his most dangerous advisor of all.
Featured image via screen capture
