Donald Trump's move to withdraw US troops from Syria prompts speculation on whether Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blackmailed his US counterpart into the decision, according to Wesley Clark, a former NATO commander.
In an interview with CNN, Clark specifically singled out the lack of "any strategic rationale for the decision", which he said prods people to ask why the move was made.
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"People around the world are asking this and some of our friends and our allies in the Middle East are asking, did Erdogan blackmail the president? Was there a payoff or something? Why would a guy make a decision like this? Because all the recommendations were against it," Clark pointed out.
He claimed that Trump' decision may also raise questions over Washington's foreign policy.
"What does this say about the foreign policy of the United States? That we're not reliable? That we make strategic decisions based on no strategic logic? What kind of person is driving the helm? That's the issue," Clark noted.
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His comments came a day after Trump tweeted that Erdogan informed him Turkey will "eradicate whatever is left" of Daesh in Syria.
"[…] And he is a man who can do it plus, Turkey is right 'next door.' Our troops are coming home!" Trump wrote.
The remarks followed a CNN report citing several Pentagon sources as saying last week that outgoing Defence Secretary James Mattis signed an order to withdraw US forces from Syria.
This coincided with Mattis writing a resignation letter, in which he stated that Trump has a right to have a secretary of defence "whose views are better aligned" with those of the US president.
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In late March, Trump said the US would "very soon" withdraw its troops from Syria, though the Trump administration later explained it would be keeping forces in Syria until Daesh is defeated.
The US-led coalition continues to launch airstrikes on Daesh positions in Syria, in a campaign that was neither approved by the UN nor the Syrian government.
*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/Islamic State) is a terrorist group banned in Russia and many other countries.
