Confused and bewildered
Another one Trump has driven out:
Brett McGurk, the special presidential envoy to the coalition fighting the Islamic State, has accelerated his resignation, telling colleagues this weekend that he could not carry out President Trump’s newly declared policy of withdrawing from Syria.
A seasoned diplomat considered by many to be the glue holding together the sprawling, American-led coalition fighting the terrorist group, Mr. McGurk was supposed to retire in February.
According to an email he sent his staff, he decided to move forward his departure after Mr. Trump did not heed his own commanders and blindsided America’s allies in the region by abruptly ordering the withdrawal of the 2,000 troops stationed in Syria.
And for why? Because Erdoğan told him to.
“The recent decision by the president came as a shock and was a complete reversal of policy that was articulated to us,” Mr. McGurk said in the email to his colleagues. “It left our coalition partners confused and our fighting partners bewildered.”
“I worked this week to help manage some of the fallout but — as many of you heard in my meetings and phone calls — I ultimately concluded that I could not carry out these new instructions and maintain my integrity,” he said.
What was that about needing adults in the room again?
Trump just pulled a Mariah Carey on this. “I don’t know who he is.” Granted, there’s a lot of people in any administration, even high-ranking ones, and I’m sure even “normal” presidents don’t remember all of them, but given that you just bragged about how you made the decision to pull out of Syria because ISIS has been defeated, it’s kind of an own goal to claim that you don’t know who your envoy to the anti-ISIS coalition is. You know, one of the folks who could help advise you on whether or not that claim is true, and help explain your decision to coalition partners?