Pete Buttigieg appeared Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” and had some harsh words for President Donald Trump on his handling of the withdrawal of American troops from northern Syria.
CNN host Jake Tapper opened his show by reminding Buttigieg of his comments on how the U.S. needs to “put an end to endless wars,” and followed that by asking how the U.S. could “ensure U.S. allies like the Kurds that they would be protected?”
Buttigieg replied that “oftentimes it means we do our part to stabilize or help keep the peace so full blown conflicts don’t break out.” (RELATED: Sec Def Esper Defends White House Move To Pull More Troops From Syria)
The candidate also criticized the president saying, “But look what’s happened here. It is not even a strategy or policy. It is the president systemically destroying American alliances and American values, and that makes America worse off.”
“The 21st century is going to be filled with these kinds of messy, asymmetric conflicts, and we need to make sure the U.S. is up for helping our allies. It’s horrifying to see what is emerging not just in terms of what is being done to Kurds, but in terms of ISIS fighters now being released exactly as we were warned would happen,” Buttigieg continued.
The American troop withdrawal from Syria was followed by the Turkish president announcing a military incursion into northern Syria against U.S.-allied Kurdish fighters. This invasion has allegedly resulted in over 700 ISIS prisoners escaping from a camp.