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Brett McGurk Profile picture
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9 Sep, 7 tweets, 3 min read
When Trump claims he’s bringing troops “home” from #Iraq, ask how many American forces are deployed in the Middle East. When he hailed pulling 1k troops out of Syria, for example, he sent another 14k troops elsewhere in the region.👇politifact.com/factchecks/201…
Worse, he then left behind a much smaller force in Syria to carry out a mission that on his own terms (“keep the oil”) has no legal basis. Those troops are now under threat from Russian military forces that were nowhere near our positions before Trump’s withdrawal order.👇
The small mission in Iraq that began in ‘14 to fight ISIS was designed to be cost effective and sustainable, built with dozens of allies. Reducing the US force from 5200 to 3700 doesn’t save costs; it may increase risks to those still there; with no apparent backfill from allies.
A coordinated plan with allies to reduce US forces while maintaining pressure on ISIS would be welcome. But that’s not what this appears to be. This seems tied more to Trump’s political calendar and the increasing threats to our troops sparked by his own ill-conceived policies.
Importantly: Trump’s own CENTCOM commander recently acknowledged that since the Soleimani strike (which I supported at the time) we’ve had to focus on protecting ourselves rather than fighting ISIS. This appears to be driving a reduction in forces. @WSJ 👉 wsj.com/articles/u-s-t…
That’s a bad sign. It shows there was no thought as to what might follow the Soleimani strike. It shows we’re reducing under duress, a signal read from Moscow to Tehran. And it may leave those there more vulnerable—with no clear mission from Trump.👇foreignaffairs.com/articles/iran/…
Diplomacy can mitigate these risks but Trump shuns diplomacy when it comes to protecting our people. It’s going on two weeks since Russian forces RAMMED and INJURED US troops. Trump’s said nothing. That speaks louder about his priorities than does a small force adjustment.

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More from @brett_mcgurk

Brett McGurk Profile picture
20 Aug
Trump today said “nothing happened” when he handed 2/3 of ISIS’s former caliphate in Syria to Erdogan and Putin, leaving our partners to fend for themselves, and displacing 200k people fleeing bands of extremists responsible for war crimes. 1/6
Here’s what happened👇washingtonpost.com/world/national…
Trump said “nobody died,” which would come as news to the families of those executed in cold blood as the US military abruptly abandoned its posts on Trump’s orders👇wsj.com/articles/u-s-d…
Read 6 tweets
Brett McGurk Profile picture
18 Jul
Trump plays golf as US forces in Syria now on a daily basis confront Russians thanks to his impetuous decision to abandon 2/3 of once-stable ground to Putin and Erdogan. Mr. President: Pick up the phone and tell Putin to stop harassing our troops.👇
Background on this clip below. Our troops should NEVER be put in this position. Trump surely know nothing about it because it’s not on cable news. No real commander-in-chief would ever allow this to fester.
Some more background about the situation now confronting our peope in Syria. This story is lost in light of other ongoing national calamities—but it stems from the same problem: a total lack of leadership in the WH, reckless disregard for American lives. politico.com/news/2020/06/3…
Read 4 tweets
Brett McGurk Profile picture
1 Jul
New WH explanation is absurd and alarming. PDB briefer didn’t READ the report on bounties to Trump. So he wasn’t “briefed” even though it was in the brief. Meanwhile, the US alerted its allies. Trump spoke with Putin at least five times. Still, nobody told him? 1/4
This suggests our country is as safe as Trump’s attention span during an oral briefing (notoriously short). On its face: he doesn’t read and nobody tells him what he needs to know even when making policy on the phone with hostile foreign counterparts. 2/4
Pointing to some disagreement in the IC is irrelevant. That’s standard course for major items like this. The WH now acknowdges it was serious enough to alert allies. Even presuming moderate confidence, any minimally competent president knows and acts accordingly. 3/4
Read 4 tweets
Brett McGurk Profile picture
27 Jun
If the White House has been sitting on credible intelligence about Russian threats to US forces overseas since MARCH, it further begs the question as to why it’s keeping an unclassified DNI threat assessment from the public for the first time ever. What’s in it?👇
More background on the DNI threat assessment (and its being kept from the public and Congress for the first time in its history) here👇
And the @nytimes story tonight on the information reportedly briefed to the president with no response, not even a diplomatic warning. Incredible.
Read 4 tweets
Brett McGurk Profile picture
29 May
So Trump will speak later today about CHINA! He’ll pretend to act tough. It’s a joke. Authoritarian leaders like Xi cannot believe their windfall: a U.S. president that shreds our values and alliances, the two unique sources of American power they truly fear. 1/3
As Trump provides cover to “shoot” American citizens, recall what he said about protestors in #HongKong last year as they bravely stood up for their freedoms. He parroted PRECISELY the language of President Xi and Chinese Communist Party leaders. 2/3👇 bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
We derive much of our strength and influence abroad from striving to live up to our example here at home, what George Kennan called “the point at which domestic and foreign policies meet.” Trump is emptying this unique reservoir of American power, to Xi and Putin’s delight. 3/3
Read 5 tweets
Brett McGurk Profile picture
24 Apr
Watching this clip of Dr. Birx, five of my own observations after serving in the Trump administration: 

1. You can’t stay above crazy: On any issue, the crazy will catch up to you

2. There’s no policy: You’re always a Tweet away from all going sideways
3. You can’t speak credibly: Since there’s no policy, nobody speaks credibly for our country

4. Diplomacy is impossible: Foreign parties know that only Trump counts and he changes on a whim 

5. You may need to resign: In any senior role, your integrity will be tested
The crazy has now caught up to our public health institutions in the middle of a deadly pandemic. It’s hard to think of a worse case scenario.
Read 4 tweets

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