Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images foreign policy Trump, in Iraq, defends decision to withdraw troops from Syria

President Donald Trump on Wednesday restated his position that it was time for U.S. forces to leave Syria and the fight against the Islamic State, saying, “We’ve knocked them silly.”

During an unannounced visit to a military base in Iraq, his first to a combat zone as president, Trump also said that he had given “the generals” a number of six-month “extensions” to get out of the country before he arrived at the decision to withdraw.


“They said again, recently, ‘Can we have more time?’ I said, ‘Nope. You can’t have any more time. You’ve had enough time,’” Trump said at Al Asad Air Base, according to a pool report. “We’ve knocked them out. We’ve knocked them silly.”

Trump announced last Wednesday his decision to withdraw troops from Syria, saying that they had “defeated ISIS.” The move was followed by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’ resignation and was met with surprise from international allies.

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Trump reportedly spoke with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey before his decision to withdraw forces. The president has also lamented the lack of investment that neighbors in the region have made to fight the Islamic State.

“I will tell you that I’ve had some very good talks with President Erdogan, who wants to knock them out also and he’ll do it,” Trump said Wednesday. “And others will do it, too. Because we are in their region. They should be sharing the burden of costs and they’re not.”

He continued: “The United States cannot continue to be the policeman of the world. … We don’t want to be taken advantage of anymore by countries that use us and use our incredible military to protect them. They don’t pay for it, and they’re going to have to.”