Proposed Bill To Keep Troops in Syria, Afghanistan

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has announced an amendment to a bill on Middle East policy that would keep U.S. troops in Syria and Afghanistan, going against President Donald Trump’s desire to withdraw, CNN reports.

McConnell introduced the amendment on Tuesday, while the bill is still up for debate in the Senate. Although it has bipartisan support, a final vote has yet to be scheduled.

The amendment would reaffirm that “al Qaida, ISIS and their affiliates in Syria and Afghanistan continue to pose a serious threat to us here at home,” and “it would recognize the dangers of a precipitous withdrawal from either conflict and highlight the need for diplomatic engagement and political solutions to the underlying conflicts in Syria and Afghanistan.”

Although McConnell didn’t mention Trump specifically, this amendment does go against the president’s desire to pull U.S. troops out of Syria, and his and Vice President Mike Pence’s claim that ISIS has been defeated. He did say that “while it is tempting to retreat to the comfort and security of our own shores, there is still a great deal of work to be done.....we're not the world's policemen, but we are the leaders of the free world.”

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