ISIS/JAMES MATTIS/MILITARY/SYRIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump on Wednesday [12-26-18] restated his position that it was time for U.S. forces to leave Syria and the fight against the Islamic State, saying, ‘We’ve knocked them silly.’ During an unannounced visit to a military base in Iraq, his first to a combat zone as president, Trump also said that he had given ‘the generals’ a number of six-month ‘extensions’ to get out of the country before he arrived at the decision to withdraw…Trump announced last Wednesday his decision to withdraw troops from Syria, saying that they had ‘defeated ISIS.’ The move was followed by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’ resignation and was met with surprise from international allies. Trump reportedly spoke with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey before his decision to withdraw forces. The president has also lamented the lack of investment that neighbors in the region have made to fight the Islamic State.”
–Garrett Ross, “Trump, in Iraq, defends decision to withdraw troops from Syria,” Politico, December 26, 2018 4:11 pm