APD Review | Trump’s sabotage of U.S. counterterrorism campaign is predictable

By APD writer Roy Lu

First, it was total withdrawal of 2000- plus U.S. troops from Syria. Then, about half of American troops in Afghanistan would be sent home. In just two days, U.S. President Donald Trump shocked his allies and barged his way to upend the U.S. counter- terrorism strategies inherited from former President George W. Bush.

The common reaction to Trump’s twin move was bewilderment. After all, nothing had appeared to trigger the latest Trumpian impulsiveness. However, Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from both Syria and Afghanistan was deeply rooted in his aversion to U.S. military involvement abroad.

Just as one White House official said in a briefing with reporters on Trump’s decision to abruptly withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, anyone felt caught off guard by Trump’s decision was not listening, because Trump was consistent in his intention to bring home U.S. troops.

The bleak mood of Trump’s subordinates and allies in Congress was full in play: his Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis resigned after clashing with Trump on the withdrawal decisions; Senator Lindsey Graham, one of Trump’s closest allies in Congress called the Syrian decision “a stain on the honor of the United States” and proclaimed that he was “blindsided” by Trump.

What was worse for Trump, all of a sudden, the town of Washington was inundated with outrage and disbelief by national security experts who hated Trump in the first place.

However, you would be naïve if you think the populist U.S. leader would be yielding to negative public opinion on this matter. And for U.S. allies in NATO and Asia, their concerns about being targeted later are justified.

Also, the chaotic episode has revealed to an unprecedented extent the collision between Trump and his own national security team.

Just one day before Trump’s sudden announcement of Syrian withdrawal decision, James Jeffrey, U.S. special representative for Syria issues, said publicly that U.S. troops would stay in Syria until three goals would be meet, including a lasting defeat of the extremist group IS, rolling back of Iranian influence in Syria and the achievement of political solution to the Syrian crisis.

About two months ago, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also revealed in a speech U.S. strategy of integrating the goal of defeating IS into a grander plan of confining Iran’s influence and achieving political solution to Syrian crisis.

To say the Unites States is facing an uphill battle to achieve the goals would be an understatement. According to U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Joseph Dunford, U.S. troops had “a long way to go” in its goal to help local forces to achieve the first goal of defeating IS and maintaining stability.

It was not the first time for Trump to single- handedly undermine his own national security team. Last year, they clashed publicly on the nuclear issue on Korean Peninsula. This year, the issue at stake was U.S. already tumbling counter- terrorism enterprise.

To Trump’s defense, his latest counterterrorism moves were not surprise attack. It followed his long- term playbook of creating disorder and thriving in chaos. In the Trump era, undermining his own team is not a taboo.

Roy Lu, researcher of APD Institute. Lu covered the 2016 U.S. presidential election till the very end of Donald Trump’s upset victory. He is a political contributor to APD.

（ASIA PACIFIC DAILY）