Talk about crazy...

Trump defends decision to withdraw troops from 'mess' in Syria, Afghanistan

By KATIE GALIOTO

President Donald Trump defended his decision to remove troops from Syria and Afghanistan in a series of tweets Friday morning, a day after the Senate issued a rebuke of the president cautioning against the “precipitous withdrawal” of military forces.

Trump said he inherited “a total mess in Syria and Afghanistan,” wars he pledged to pull out of during his campaign. “We spend $50 Billion a year in Afghanistan and have hit them so hard that we are now talking peace … after 18 long years,” the president tweeted.

The tweets come less than 24 hours after Senate Republicans and Democrats voted in favor of an amendment drafted by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) expressing strong opposition to the president’s withdrawal of troops.

Trump unexpectedly announced in December that he would pull thousands of U.S. troops from Syria and Afghanistan, a move that prompted bipartisan backlash from lawmakers and his own national security team.

This week, U.S. intelligence chiefs publicly broke with Trump, who has claimed that the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, has been defeated on the ground. Critics of the president's position, while acknowledging the terrorist group's near-total loss of land, warn that the group still lives as an insurgent force, and that withdrawing American troops will give them a vacuum to regain territory. A draft Pentagon report warns the Islamic State could reclaim territory in Syria within six to 12 months without sustained military pressure, NBC News reported Thursday.

“Syria was loaded with ISIS until I came along. We will soon have destroyed 100% of the Caliphate, but will be watching them closely,” the president tweeted Friday. “It is now time to start coming home and, after many years, spending our money wisely. Certain people must get smart!"