President Trump vigorously defended on Monday his decision to withdraw United States troops from northern Syria ahead of a planned invasion of the region by Turkey, even as his Republican allies in both the Senate and House vehemently criticized the move. “We want to bring our troops back home and I got elected on that,” Trump said during a news conference Monday. “It would also be DISGRACEFUL if we sat idly by while Turkey slaughters the Kurds, as public reports suggest that Turkish leader Erdogan explicitly told President Trump he intends to do. Hours after the White House announcement, Kurdish-led forces in Syria reported that American troops had started withdrawing from areas along Turkey's border. Over 11,000 mostly Kurdish fighters in the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have been killed fighting ISIS in Syria.

Source: Fox News October 07, 2019 21:22 UTC