Just Foreign Policy magazine said the U.S must leave Syria, arguing that foreign policy “experts” at the White House – that is the “national security establishment” is wrong though.
The “establishment” known as “The Blob” by a former President Obama’s adviser Ben Rhodes seem to always advocate for more war.
President Trump has announced that he wants to withdraw U.S. military forces from Syria when ISIS is defeated.
The ever-more-war crowd says the U.S. military should remain in Syria indefinitely to confront Russia, Iran, and/or the Syrian government.
But President Trump is right, and the Blob – as usual – is wrong, says Just Foreign Policy.
Progressive California Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna wrote last week: “I am glad Trump is rejecting Tillerson’s neocon vision of asking U.S forces to stay in Syria illegally to counter Iran or to facilitate regime change. We must not maintain an indefinite presence there with no authorization.”
Congress has never authorized any role for the U.S. military in Syria other than attacking ISIS and Al Qaeda, argued the magazine editors.
There is a longstanding dispute over whether even those things were authorized, it said.
But there is no dispute that Congress never authorized anything else.
Under the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution, as soon as the U.S. is no longer fighting ISIS or Al Qaeda in Syria, U.S. forces must be withdrawn.
And so long as they remain, fighting ISIS or Al Qaeda – at most – is all President Trump is allowed to direct U.S. forces to do.
If anyone wants U.S. forces to do anything else in Syria, they need to come to Congress and make their case and get a majority of the House and Senate to pass a specific authorization for the use of force to make those actions Constitutional.