Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) defended President Trump's decision to withdraw troops from Syria, saying that the Kurds would be better off aligned with Syrian leader Bashar Assad.
“The Kurds are going to better aligned with Assad because they frankly need a Syrian sponsor,” Paul, told Hill.TV during an interview that aired on Thursday.
Paul, seen as an outsider among Republicans on foreign policy, has been a staunch defender of Trump's decision to pullout from Syria.
Paul said the U.S. never intended to stay in Syria in the first place.
“We were never staying there — the president never promised to stay there, he said we’re going to wipe out ISIS, we did,” he said.
Trump’s decision to pull troops out of northern Syria earlier this month has garnered criticism from even his most loyal allies, including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) who have both called the decision a mistake.
But Trump has stood by his decision, saying he was bringing U.S. troops home from endless wars.
"Lindsey Graham would like to stay in the Middle East for the next thousand years with thousands of soldiers and fighting other people's wars. I want to get out of the Middle East,” Trump said at a joint press conference with the Italian President Sergio Mattarella on Wednesday.
The House, meanwhile, overwhelming passed a resolution on Wednesday rebuking Trump’s decision and calling on Turkey to stop military action.
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