FT: Trump faces Republican backlash over Syria troop withdrawal

US President Donald Trump drew condemnation from the highest levels of his Republican party after he appeared to give Turkey the green light to launch a military incursion into Syria against US-backed Kurdish militias that have spearheaded the battle against Daesh, The Financial Times reported.

Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader who rarely rebukes Trump, warned the president not to follow through on an announcement that he suggested was in line with the foreign policy of former president Barack Obama.

“As we learned the hard way during the Obama Administration, American interests are best served by American leadership, not by retreat or withdrawal,” Mr McConnell said.

The White House on Sunday said the US would remove its forces from near the Syrian border with Turkey after Trump spoke to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

In a call with reporters in the wake of the criticism, a senior US official denied Trump had given the go-ahead to a military incursion. He said the president had decided to remove 50 US special forces from a limited area on the border to make sure they were not caught in the crossfire if Turkey went ahead with the operation.

“This does not constitute a withdrawal from Syria. We’re talking about a small number of troops that will move to other bases within Syria,” said the official, who added that any suggestion the move was giving “a green light for a massacre is irresponsible”