Air Force veteran and Republican Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger tore into President Trump’s decision to remove U.S forces from Northern Syria in a Thursday appearance on CNN.
Kinzinger told CNN’s Poppy Harlow, “These decisions are not making us safer… I mean, this is a really bad decision.”
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After drawing attention to the disparity in casualty numbers between U.S. forces and the Kurds, Kinzinger took a jab at another comment Trump recently made about the Kurds having not helped the United States in Normandy.
“So, you know, whether or not they were involved in Normandy, they were involved in fighting ISIS on behalf of the United States of America willingly because we didn’t want to put forces on the ground,” Kinzinger remarked. (RELATED: Trump Doubles Down On Syria Pullout Despite Bipartisan Backlash)
Prior to Kinzinger’s television appearance, he ridiculed the president’s posturing about having removed 2 ISIS militants to a more “secure location controlled by the U.S.” in a tweet.
Ah the other 10,000 no biggie, at least you got the “big two.” Campaign promise fail. https://t.co/QcRdTZst4k
— Adam Kinzinger (@RepKinzinger) October 10, 2019
“Ah the other 10,000 no biggie, at least you got the ‘big two.’ Campaign promise fail,” Kinzinger tweeted.
Kinzinger’s comments Thursday morning are just his latest criticisms of the administration’s Syrian policy, making him one of a number of fellow Republicans denouncing the move. Earlier this week, he issued several tweets echoing similar sentiments about the president’s actions regarding the presence of U.S. troops along Syria’s northern border. (RELATED: Lindsey Graham: ISIS Fighters Have A ‘Second Lease On Life’ Because Of Trump’s Withdrawal From Syria)
Trump has, both as a candidate and president, signaled his willingness to bring home American troops. The chief criticism leveled against pulling out of Northern Syria specifically is that it could entice the Turkish government to attack the Kurds. Trump, however, addressed this concern in a tweet, claiming that if such a thing were to occur, he would “wipe out” the Turkish economy.
This threat had seemingly no impact on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as Turkey has already begun an assault against Kurdish fighters in the region.