"The Russians are delighted": Ex-CIA officer explains why Putin is pleased by Trump's Syria plan

"This is foreign policy malpractice," former CIA operative Bob Baer said

Published December 27, 2018 6:55AM (EST)

Vladimir Putin; Donald Trump   (AP/Evan Vucci)
Vladimir Putin; Donald Trump (AP/Evan Vucci)

This article originally appeared on AlterNet.

The fallout from President Donald Trump's decision to pull US troops from the northern border of Syria continued Wednesday. Even stalwart Trump supporters like Rick Santorum slammed the President for the withdrawal. So far, two top advisors have quit, noting that the President's seemingly abrupt decision signaled that the US was willing to abandon allies and cede strategic gains.

Former CIA operative Bob Baer appeared on CNN Wednesday to break down the ramifications of President Donald Trump's decision.

"This is foreign policy malpractice," Baer said. "Clearly the Russians are delighted that we are giving them all of Syria, that we are giving up our Kurdish allies and not only to Russia, the Iranians will fill the vacuum."

"The other day somebody called me and said 'are you guys serious? pulling out of Syria and leaving it to us?'" Baer claimed.

He pointed out that the US alliance with the Kurds has yielded successful results in the region and that abandoning them now doesn’t make much sense.

"This is insane. This is the most successful counter insurgence we have conducted in living memory, getting rid of the Islamic state using Kurdish forces. To just give this up gratuitously is crazy," he said.

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By Tana Ganeva

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