The promise made by U.S. President Donald Trump, who leaped from the business world to politics, to pull back U.S. troops from many countries, primarily Afghanistan, played an important role in the success he gained in the 2016 presidential elections. It was clear that Trump got more votes in areas where the families of soldiers who lost their lives abroad reside. On the other hand, Hilary Clinton’s eagerness to continue her war policies ended in defeat.
Trump, who was one of the severe critics of the Iraq war, during his 14 months in office, did not fulfill his promise, and what’s more, he approved the sending of more troops to Afghanistan. The U.S., which has more than 2,000 soldiers in Syria, is also helping Riyadh in the war in Yemen. The deal on the Patriot air system with Poland was smoothed over. We don’t know the details yet on whether technology will be shared, but the agreement was announced. The U.S. is also going to send heavy weaponry to Ukraine. The tension that started between the U.K. and Russia is increasingly escalating. In the conflict that has turned into an international crisis, the anti-Russia front is expanding. Trump, who is in favor of having good ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, took place on the same side as the U.K.
A significant number of voters and the political elite are angry with Trump because he failed to fulfill his election promise about U.S. troops returning home. The commenters who referred to the abovementioned headlines said, “If voters wanted this, they would have elected Hilary Clinton, not Donald Trump.” Trump bringing CIA head Mike Pompeo to the head of the Department of State, former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton to the National Security Advisory, who are known as the “war falcons,” further offended these circles.
As all the developments were happening, Trump approved some 10 percent increase in the military budget; $700 billion for 2018 and $716 billion for 2019. Yet, Trump could not achieve real progress on the “Mexica wall.” In the $1.3-trillion budget pack that was approved in Congress recently, an allowance of just $1.6 billion could be allocated for border security. The number foreseen by Trump was $25 billion. Trump, who approved the general budget amid whining, is now trying to get the Pentagon to build the wall to fulfill his promise to the voters.
When Trump accepted to meet with the North Korean leader, he had two falcons like Pompeo and Bolton behind him. This maneuver, which is seen as “carrot and stick,” is believed to be valid for Iran, Russia and China as well. Trump, who threatened to turn North Korea back to the Stone Age suddenly became a peace-making president. It is clear that Trump is going to use the “Neocons” as leverage to further his policies on these countries. Both Bolton and Pompeo have defended that the “Iranian Nuclear Deal” should be trashed from the very beginning. Trump had given Germany, the U.K. and France until May 12 to add new terms to the agreement. These countries are in favor of leaving the deal as it is. Bolton and Pompeo may change this reality.
While the Pentagon and the U.S. Department of State have made statements that the U.S. will be in Syria for a long time, in a meeting in Ohio, Trump said that he will be pulling back U.S. troops. Trump’s Syria statement also contradicts with Israel as well as Iran falcons like Pompeo and Bolton. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who was in the U.S., said, hours after Trump, in an interview to Time magazine, “We believe U.S. troops need to remain in Syria for at least the medium term.” It will become clear in the upcoming days whether Trump’s Syria statement is a message given for the 2018 elections. The question that needs to be answered is: Is Trump going to give an order or not to the Pentagon, Department of State and National Security advisers to prepare a plan for U.S. soldiers to pull out of Syria?
