SWFL veterans split on President Trump’s decision to remove U.S. troops from Syria

Reporter: Erika Jackson
Published: Updated:
(WINK News)

Kurds living in Syria are scrambling to get away as the Turkish military invades the region.

“We’ve been doing this actually over a period of time, over a very long period of time. And we’ve been working with the people in this room and our soldiers have been coming back over that period of time,” said President Donald Trump.

The pullout has created rare, bi-partisan criticism of the president.

On Thursday, SWFL Congressman Francis Rooney called the move “short-sighted” and joined Senator Marco Rubio in calling on the president to reverse his decision.

We asked some veterans in Charlotte County about their thoughts on the decision.

“I can understand the fact that he wants to get out of it, but it’s going to turn into a political thing,” said U.S. Army Veteran Michael Schwartz.

Schwartz served several tours in the Middle East, and called the situation “a double-edged sword.”

“I don’t know why the UN itself isn’t involved in trying to keep the peace instead of us having to do it,” he said.

But, U.S. Air Force Veteran Michael Raymond supports the president’s move, confident his decision is best for our country.

“We send our troops to where they are needed. And now, our president doesn’t feel that they are needed there anymore,” said Raymond.

The Kurds say now that the Turkish offensive is underway, they have to turn their attention away from ISIS and defend themselves.

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