Sen. Rand Paul, Rep. Ro Khanna, in Bipartisan Letter to Trump, Urge Troop Withdrawal from Syria

April 3, 2019 (EIRNS)—Sen. Rand Paul and Rep. Ro Khanna today issued a bipartisan and bicameral letter to President Donald Trump “in support of his decision to bring U.S. troops home from Syria and “urging the completion of the withdrawal process ‘within the next six months,’ demonstrating that the cause crosses a wide range of ideological and political boundaries to unite lawmakers,” according to the release from Senator Paul’s office.

Other signers include: Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), U.S. Representatives Ted Lieu (D-CA), Justin Amash (R-MI), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Thomas Massie (R-KY), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (DFL-MN), and Bill Posey (R-FL).

Senator Paul wrote:

“One of the things I have always admired about President Trump is his willingness to take on a foreign policy establishment that has failed to make America safer. As he said during the State of the Union, ‘Great nations do not fight endless wars,’ and I look forward to continuing to work with President Trump to change course and bring more of our soldiers home.”

The letter follows:

Dear Mr. President:

We write in bipartisan support of your announcement of the start of a deliberate withdrawal of U.S. military forces in Syria, and we welcome the completion of this process within the next six months.

The 2015 introduction of U.S. military forces into hostilities in Syria was never approved by Congress, in violation of the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution of 1973. We believe that the stated intention of withdrawing our forces is appropriate, and we look forward to the orderly return of our service members from this theater of conflict.

While it is essential to accomplish the announced withdrawal, we urge your Administration to couple the process of a phased removal of U.S. troops with an increased focus on diplomacy to ensure minimal disruption and prevent needless loss of life.

Additionally, we recommend direct, robust engagement and coordination with both U.S. allies and other regional governments to ensure the safety of Syria’s civilian populations and avert the resurgence of ISIS. We agree with your aim of averting a Turkish military assault on Syria’s Kurds, and U.S. leverage—such as conditioning weapons sales to Turkey—can achieve this outcome.

It is long past time to rein in the use of force that goes beyond congressional authorization, and we look forward to pursuing this longstanding bipartisan objective with your Administration.

Finally, we hope this will serve as a model for ending hostilities in the future—in particular, as you and your administration seek a political solution to our involvement in Afghanistan.