Several days after signing the criminal justice bill and the $867 farm bill into law, President Donald Trump on Sunday lamented the intense media focus on his decision to withdraw troops from Syria and Afghanistan, Fox News informed.
The bipartisan criminal justice and the farm bill, which secured more funding for farmers affected by the trade war in China and called for immediate “welfare reform,” were slightly overshadowed by the President’s abrupt troop drawdown, as well as Defense Secretary James Mattis’ decision to resign.
Last week, the White House released its plan to withdraw all 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria and about 7,000 troops from Afghanistan, which almost half of the U.S. soldiers deployed in this region.
“We signed two pieces of major legislation this week, Criminal Justice Reform and the Farm Bill,” Trump wrote. “These are two Big Deals, but all the Fake News Media wants to talk about is “the mistake” of bringing our young people back home from the Never Ending Wars. It all began 19 years ago!”
Although previous president Barack Obama repeatedly promised to withdraw all the troops from Afghanistan by 2014, U.S. and NATO forces remain there in predominately training and advising role.
Afghanistan’s security forces rely heavily on U.S. airpower against both Taliban and an upstart Islamic State affiliate.
Mick Mulvaney, incoming Acting White House Chief of Staff, stood in defense of Trump’s plan to withdraw the troops, saying that while “we recognize the fact that this unpopular within the beltway” and “we recognize this fact is unpopular within the Defense Department,” the move ultimately has been “very popular with ordinary American people.”
He also made remarks about Mattis’ credentials about the job.
“Let’s be honest with each other,” Mulvaney said. “I think the relationship between these two men [Trump and Mattis] had been fraying. I think the President no longer relied on Mattis to be able to deliver the President’s vision.”
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