United States will leave the “blood-stained sand” of the Middle East, Trump Says
Thu 24 October 2019:
The United States will leave the “blood-stained sand” of the Middle East, President Donald Trump said, adding the US no longer needs to be the world’s policeman.
Trump spoke on Wednesday in a special address from the White House and declared a change of course in US relations with the Middle East, where he said too many American service members had died.
“We’re getting out. Let someone else fight over this long blood-stained sand. The job of our military is not to police the world,” the US president said.
Trump has been under fire for abruptly withdrawing US troops from northern Syria, with many accusing him of abandoning Kurdish forces, who had been one of the US’s main allies in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS).
Following the pullout, Turkey launched an offensive against Kurdish fighters in the region. Last week, Turkey agreed to a five-day ceasefire to allow Kurdish forces to withdraw from the border area.
“Other nations must step up and do their fair share,” said Trump of conflict in the region. “I am committed to pursuing a different course, one that leads to victory for America.”
It was unclear when American troops in the region would begin returning home. Hundreds previously deployed in Syria are now based in western Iraq.
Trump also said some forces would remain in Syria’s oil fields despite the broader US withdrawal from the country.
“We have secured the oil and, therefore, a small number of US troops will remain in the area where they have the oil,” he said.
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