US Senate opposes troop withdrawal

In a bipartisan effort, the US Senate voted to advance an amendment which would oppose President Trump’s decision to withdraw US troops from Syria and Afghanistan. 

Background 

The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, which along with the United States House of Representatives — the lower chamber — comprises the legislature of the United States.

The composition and powers of the Senate are established by Article One of the United States Constitution. The Senate is composed of senators, each of whom represents a single state in its entirety. Each state, regardless of its population size, is equally represented by two senators who serve staggered terms of six years. There being at present 50 states in the Union, there are presently 100 senators. From 1789 until 1913, senators were appointed by legislatures of the states they represented; they are now elected by popular vote, following the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913.

The Senate is widely considered both a more deliberative and more prestigious body than the House of Representatives due to its longer terms, smaller size, and statewide constituencies, which historically led to a more collegial and less partisan atmosphere. The presiding officer of the Senate is the Vice President of the United States, who is President of the Senate.

Mitch McConnell has been the Senate Majority leader since January 3, 2015.

Analysis 

President Trump abruptly tweeted plans for a U.S. pullout from Syria in December 2018, arguing that the Islamic State had been defeated even though his intelligence chiefs have said the group remains a threat. Trump also ordered the military to develop plans to remove up to half of the 14,000 U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

The amendment by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell comes after Trump called for a drawdown of troops in both of those countries. The measure says the Islamic State and al-Qaida militants still pose a serious threat to the United States, and it warns that “a precipitous withdrawal” of U.S. forces from those countries could “allow terrorists to regroup, destabilize critical regions and create vacuums that could be filled by Iran or Russia.”

McConnell didn’t frame the measure as a reproach to the President, but he said before the vote that “I’ve been clear about my own views on these subjects.” He said he believes the threats remain. “ISIS and al-Qaida have yet to be defeated,” McConnell said. “And American national security interests require continued commitment to our missions there.”

The vote is the latest indication of deepening cracks between the Republican Senate and Trump on foreign policy matters. Similar rifts exist within Trump’s own administration, evident this week when the heads of major U.S. intelligence agencies testified to the Senate and contradicted him on the strength of the Islamic State and several other foreign policy matters. Trump’s announcement on Syria, meanwhile, prompted the resignation of Defense Secretary James Mattis.

McConnell’s amendment, which is nonbinding, would encourage cooperation between the White House and Congress to develop long-term strategies in both offices , “including a thorough accounting of the risks of withdrawing too hastily.”

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., argued in support of the amendment on the Senate floor, saying Trump’s withdrawal announcement has already undermined U.S. credibility in the region. “This is being used against us right now,” Rubio said. “This is a very dangerous situation. That’s why this is a very bad idea.”

Though many Democrats have argued that the U.S. should eventually withdraw from the conflicts in Syria and Afghanistan, around half of them supported McConnell’s resolution. California Sen. Dianne Feinstein said after the vote that she believes it’s “far past due for the United States to negotiate an appropriate end” to the conflict in Afghanistan. But she said she also agreed with McConnell that the “precipitous withdrawal” from either country without political resolutions would risk what troops there have already achieved. She voted in favor of the measure. 

Many of the most liberal members of the Senate — including several Democrats who are eying presidential runs in 2020 — voted against the amendment. A handful of Republicans also opposed the amendment. McConnell’s Kentucky colleague, Republican Sen. Rand Paul, missed the vote but said he was against it.

Assessment 

Our assessment is that the Senate’s decision to stop the withdrawal could be the basis of refocusing the decision-making process on foreign and defence related issues from the White House back to Senate.  We believe that this will set a precedent for future senators to exercise more power over crucial foreign policy decisions than any other Senate in the past.