Facing bipartisan criticisms for his dangerous new policy in northern Syria, Donald Trump has repeatedly emphasized a core priority as a fundamental defense: the American president has said he’s desperate to bring American troops “back home.”
“Bring our troops back home…. It’s time to bring them home,” the Republican told supporters at a campaign rally two weeks ago. Trump’s pushed the same message on Twitter, arguing last week, “I am the only person who can fight for the safety of our troops & bring them home.” He added at an unrelated White House event that it’s “time to bring our soldiers back home.”
There’s ample room for debate about the wisdom of the Republican’s policy, and whether he’s pursuing the most responsible course. What’s far less debatable is whether he’s bringing U.S. troops home — because as the Associated Press reported, “That’s not what he’s doing.”
While the U.S. has begun what the Pentagon calls a deliberate withdrawal of troops from Syria, Trump himself has said that the 200 to 300 U.S. service members deployed to a southern Syria outpost in Al-Tanf will remain there.
And on Saturday, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the current plan calls for all U.S. troops who are leaving Syria to go to western Iraq, not home. They number more than 700.
Asked Sunday why troops weren’t coming home as Trump said they would, his acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, said: “Well, they will eventually.”
Mulvaney’s response wasn’t exactly compelling. No one’s suggested the president is relocating U.S. troops to the Middle East, making foreign countries their permanent new home. The trouble is, the more Trump says, “It’s time to bring them home,” the more he leads Americans to believe those troops are en route to U.S. soil, which is plainly not the case.
In fact, by some accounts, Trump’s entire withdrawal plan appears to be in doubt. NBC News had this report earlier today:









