Trump Keeps Promise on Syria [OPINION]

President Trump's decision to immediately withdraw some 2,000 troops from Syria should not come as much of a surprise to those who followed his campaign. He talked about it often.

The reality that Trump is actually keeping his campaign promise to withdraw from Syria has taken some by surprise. Even some in Congress who purport to be Trump allies say they were caught off guard by the move and are advising the president to change his mind. Some Congressional liberals are praising the move. One thing to keep in mind when evaluating this is that Trump has no true allies in Congress.

Those who think this is a bad idea argue that Trump is repeating the mistake that Obama made when he withdrew from Iraq, which resulted in the creation of ISIS. They say allies in the region will feel abandoned and perhaps could be overrun.

Trump argues that America is battle weary. We have spent lives and trillions in treasure defending interests in the Middle East and have little to show for it. The American military has been engaged in conflict in the Middle East since it routed the Taliban from Afghanistan nearly 18 years ago.

Trump also argues that Russia, Iran and Syria are the regional enemies of ISIS and should step up to fill any vacuum created by the American withdrawal.

"Do we want to be there forever? Time for others to finally fight," Trump tweeted. He also warns ISIS that picking a fight with America would be a considerable miscalculation.

Military moves have risks. We will see whether withdrawing from Syria was a good move or a bad move. It for sure will be good to see our young men and women come home, though.

Barry Richard is the host of The Barry Richard Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. Contact him at barry@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @BarryJRichard58. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.