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Trump Defends Syria Withdrawal: 'It's Not Our Border'

President Trump listens during a news conference with Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the White House on Wednesday.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais AP
President Trump listens during a news conference with Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the White House on Wednesday.

Updated at 3:20 p.m. ET

President Trump is defending his decision to pull U.S. troops out of Syria, saying, "They have a problem at the border; it's not our border," and that "they've got a lot of sand over there. There's a lot of sand they can play with."

He said the Kurds, longtime U.S. allies, are "much safer right now" and added, "They're not angels."

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Trump's sudden pullback of U.S. forces from northern Syria, which has led to an incursion into the region by Turkey aimed at the Kurds, has been criticized by lawmakers from both parties.

Wednesday afternoon, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bicameral resolution opposing the Trump administration's shift in policy. The vote on the nonbinding resolution was 354-60, with four members voting "present."

It states that Congress "opposes the decision to end certain United States efforts to prevent Turkish military operations against Syrian Kurdish forces in Northeast Syria." It also called on the White House to "present a clear and specific plan for the enduring defeat of ISIS."

Congressional leaders will meet with the president later Wednesday.

At a news conference with Italian President Sergio Mattarella, Trump also denied that his decision to withdraw U.S. forces from the area enabled Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to launch the attack, saying, "I didn't give him a green light." Trump also insisted that Erdogan's decision "didn't surprise me," saying the Turkish leader has "been wanting to do that for years."

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Trump blamed the widespread opposition to his withdrawal order on the "military industrial complex," saying, "A lot of companies want to fight, because they make their weapons based on fighting not based on peace."

Asked about congressional opposition to his decision, including from Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Trump said, "Lindsey Graham would like to stay in the Middle East for the next thousand years."

He added, "I think Lindsey should focus right now on [the] judiciary [committee]."

On Capitol Hill, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he wanted "to express my gratitude to the Kurds," saying the U.S. had a great alliance with them. "I'm sorry we are where we are," he said.

But echoing Erdogan, Trump said Kurdish fighters who are members of the militant PKK are "probably worse in terror and more of a terrorist threat in many ways than ISIS."

Trump said, "It's their part of the world. We're 7,000 miles away. I campaigned on bringing our soldiers back home," he said, "and that's what I'm doing."

"Russia, Iran, Syria and, to maybe slightly lesser extent, Turkey, they all hate ISIS as much as we do."

The press conference came as Vice President Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo prepare to fly to Turkey to meet with Erdogan.

The remarks also follow the Democratic primary debate in Ohio on Tuesday night, which opened with a question about the impeachment inquiry. The inquiry formally began after revelations that Trump had asked the president of Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, a potential 2020 political opponent.

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