SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
President Donald Trump is flanked by Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo while making a statement in the Diplomatic Room of the White House on October 23, 2019 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
'Illegal and Unconstitutional': Sanders Rips Trump Plan to Use US Troops to Exploit Syria's Oil Fields
"Last I checked, Congress never authorized U.S. forces to be deployed to secure Syria's economic resources."
Oct 23, 2019
Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday condemned as "illegal and unconstitutional" President Donald Trump's newly announced plan to keep U.S. troops in northeastern Syria to control and exploit the region's oil fields.
"Last I checked, Congress never authorized U.S. forces to be deployed to secure Syria's economic resources," Sanders, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, tweeted Wednesday.
During a press conference in the Diplomatic Room of the White House Wednesday, Trump said a "small number of U.S. troops will remain in the area where they have the oil." The president did not specify how long or how many U.S. troops would remain stationed in northeastern Syria.
"We've secured the oil," Trump said. "We're going to be protecting it, and we'll be deciding what we're going to do with it in the future."
\u201cTRUMP on Syria's oil: "We've secured the oil and, therefore, a small number of US Troops will remain in the area. Where they have the oil. And we're going to be protecting it, and we'll be deciding what we're going to do with it in the future."\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1571845570
The president's remarks came just over two weeks after he abruptly announced the withdrawal of U.S. troops from northeastern Syria, paving the way for Turkey to launch a deadly assault on the region's Kurdish population.
Despite the slaughter, Trump claimed he "saved the lives of many, many Kurds" by negotiating a "ceasefire" in northeastern Syria following the Turkish military operation that he enabled.
"Countless lives are now being saved as a result of our negotiation with Turkey--an outcome reached without spilling one drop of American blood," the president said. "No injuries. Nobody shot, nobody killed."
Dozens of people were reportedly killed during Turkey's bombardment of the Kurds. According to the United Nations, more than 160,000 civilians were displaced by the Turkish invasion.
As Common Dreams reported last week, Amnesty International documented a number of war crimes committed by Turkish forces in northeastern Syria, including indiscriminate bombing of residential areas and "summary killings" of civilians.
"Turkish military forces and their allies have displayed an utterly callous disregard for civilian lives," said Kumi Naidoo, secretary general of Amnesty International.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday condemned as "illegal and unconstitutional" President Donald Trump's newly announced plan to keep U.S. troops in northeastern Syria to control and exploit the region's oil fields.
"Last I checked, Congress never authorized U.S. forces to be deployed to secure Syria's economic resources," Sanders, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, tweeted Wednesday.
During a press conference in the Diplomatic Room of the White House Wednesday, Trump said a "small number of U.S. troops will remain in the area where they have the oil." The president did not specify how long or how many U.S. troops would remain stationed in northeastern Syria.
"We've secured the oil," Trump said. "We're going to be protecting it, and we'll be deciding what we're going to do with it in the future."
\u201cTRUMP on Syria's oil: "We've secured the oil and, therefore, a small number of US Troops will remain in the area. Where they have the oil. And we're going to be protecting it, and we'll be deciding what we're going to do with it in the future."\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1571845570
The president's remarks came just over two weeks after he abruptly announced the withdrawal of U.S. troops from northeastern Syria, paving the way for Turkey to launch a deadly assault on the region's Kurdish population.
Despite the slaughter, Trump claimed he "saved the lives of many, many Kurds" by negotiating a "ceasefire" in northeastern Syria following the Turkish military operation that he enabled.
"Countless lives are now being saved as a result of our negotiation with Turkey--an outcome reached without spilling one drop of American blood," the president said. "No injuries. Nobody shot, nobody killed."
Dozens of people were reportedly killed during Turkey's bombardment of the Kurds. According to the United Nations, more than 160,000 civilians were displaced by the Turkish invasion.
As Common Dreams reported last week, Amnesty International documented a number of war crimes committed by Turkish forces in northeastern Syria, including indiscriminate bombing of residential areas and "summary killings" of civilians.
"Turkish military forces and their allies have displayed an utterly callous disregard for civilian lives," said Kumi Naidoo, secretary general of Amnesty International.
Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday condemned as "illegal and unconstitutional" President Donald Trump's newly announced plan to keep U.S. troops in northeastern Syria to control and exploit the region's oil fields.
"Last I checked, Congress never authorized U.S. forces to be deployed to secure Syria's economic resources," Sanders, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, tweeted Wednesday.
During a press conference in the Diplomatic Room of the White House Wednesday, Trump said a "small number of U.S. troops will remain in the area where they have the oil." The president did not specify how long or how many U.S. troops would remain stationed in northeastern Syria.
"We've secured the oil," Trump said. "We're going to be protecting it, and we'll be deciding what we're going to do with it in the future."
\u201cTRUMP on Syria's oil: "We've secured the oil and, therefore, a small number of US Troops will remain in the area. Where they have the oil. And we're going to be protecting it, and we'll be deciding what we're going to do with it in the future."\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1571845570
The president's remarks came just over two weeks after he abruptly announced the withdrawal of U.S. troops from northeastern Syria, paving the way for Turkey to launch a deadly assault on the region's Kurdish population.
Despite the slaughter, Trump claimed he "saved the lives of many, many Kurds" by negotiating a "ceasefire" in northeastern Syria following the Turkish military operation that he enabled.
"Countless lives are now being saved as a result of our negotiation with Turkey--an outcome reached without spilling one drop of American blood," the president said. "No injuries. Nobody shot, nobody killed."
Dozens of people were reportedly killed during Turkey's bombardment of the Kurds. According to the United Nations, more than 160,000 civilians were displaced by the Turkish invasion.
As Common Dreams reported last week, Amnesty International documented a number of war crimes committed by Turkish forces in northeastern Syria, including indiscriminate bombing of residential areas and "summary killings" of civilians.
"Turkish military forces and their allies have displayed an utterly callous disregard for civilian lives," said Kumi Naidoo, secretary general of Amnesty International.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.