About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 20, 2018)
TODAYS TOP HEADLINES The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com Thursday, December 20, 2018 3A Trump pulls US troops out of Syria President declares victory against Islamic State; party lawmakers call action rash, dangerous Defense Secretary Jim Mattis welcomes Vice President Mike Pence to the Pentagon, Wednesday, Dec. 19, after learning President Donald Trump is pulling all 2,000 U.S. troops out of Syria Bill approved to keep government running into 2019 WASHINGTON — The Senate approved legisla tion Wednesday to temporarily fund the govern ment, a key step toward averting a federal shutdown after President Donald Trump backed off his demand for money for a border wall with Mexico. Senators passed the measure, which would keep government running to Feb. 8, by voice vote with out a roll call. The House is also expected to move before Friday’s deadline, when funding for a por tion of the government expires. Without resolution, more than 800,000 federal workers would face fur loughs or be forced to work without pay, disrupting government operations days before Christmas. While the White House indicated Trump was open to reviewing whatever Congress could pass, the president did not immediately weigh in on the short-term plan. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said the Senate will remain in session Thursday. “We have to see what the House does,” he said. Many of Trump’s supporters were frustrated that he appeared to retreat on his shutdown threats after promising a fight over the wall, which had been central to his presidential campaign. Just last week Trump said he would be “proud” to shut down the government over his demand for $5 billion for the wall. Some allies described the move as caving on his pledge, expressing concern that it could hurt Trump’s 2020 prospects. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., a leader of the conser vative House Freedom Caucus, said Trump’s politi cal base “will just go crazy” if he signs a bill without wall funding. He warned it will be tougher to win the money next year when Democrats control the House. He said supporters of the president “believe it’s a promise that he’s been telling them that he will keep. ” On Twitter, Trump appeared to respond to criti cism by insisting that “one way or the other, we will win on the Wall!” Associated Press BY LOLITA C. BALD0R, ROBERT BURNS AND MATTHEW LEE Associated Press WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is pulling all 2,000 U.S. troops out of Syria, officials announced Wednesday as the presi dent suddenly declared victory over the Islamic State, contradicting his own experts’ assessments and sparking surprise and outrage from his party’s lawmakers who called his action rash and dangerous. The U.S. began airstrikes in Syria in 2014, and ground troops moved in the following year to battle the Islamic State, or ISIS, and train Syrian rebels in a coun try torn apart by civil war. Trump abruptly declared their mission accomplished in a tweet. “We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency,” he said as Vice President Mike Pence met with top leaders at the Pentagon. U.S. officials said many details of the troop withdrawal had not yet been finalized, but they expect American forces to be out by mid-January. Later Wednesday, Trump posted a video on Twitter in which he said is “heartbreaking” to have to write letters and make calls to the loved ones of those killed in battle. “Now it’s time for our troops to come back home,” he said. A senior administration official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, said Trump made the decision based on his belief that U.S. troops have no role in Syria beyond combatting Islamic State, whose fighters are now believed to hold about 1 percent of the territory they did at the peak of their power. The president informed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of his decision in a telephone call, the official said. Turkey has recently warned that it would launch com bat operations across its southern border into northeastern Syria against Kurdish forces who have been allied with the U.S. in the fight against the Islamic State. Trump’s declaration of victory was far from unanimous, and offi cials said U.S. defense and military leaders were trying to dissuade him from ordering the withdrawal right up until the last minute. His decision immediately triggered demands from Congress — includ ing leading Republicans — for more information and a formal briefing on the matter. Sen. Lind say Graham of South Carolina, just returned from Afghanistan, said he was meeting with Defense Sec retary Jim Mattis late in the day. Graham, typically a Trump backer, said he was “blindsided” by the report and called the deci sion “a disaster in the making.” He said, “The biggest winners in this are ISIS and Iran.” The decision will fulfill Trump’s long-stated goal of bringing troops home from Syria, but military lead ers have pushed back for months, arguing that the IS group remains a threat and could regroup in Syria’s long-running civil war. U.S. policy has been to keep troops in place until the extremists are eradicated. MANUEL BALCE CENETAI Associated Press The senior administration offi cial said American forces would still work with allies to fight the Islamic State or other extremists in the country but gave no details on what that might entail. Another official said it still is not clear to defense leaders whether U.S. airstrikes against IS insur gents will continue in Syria after the American troops leave. U.S. military officials worry that Amer ican-backed Kurdish troops will be targeted by Turkey and the Syrian government, leaving no ally on the ground to help direct the strikes. Israeli Prime Minister Ben jamin Netanyahu, who remains concerned about Iranian efforts in the area, reacted in noncommittal fashion after talking with Trump by telephone. “This is, of course, an American decision,” he said. No matter what, he said, “we will safeguard the security of Israel and protect our selves from this arena. ” Leading Republican senators reacted with displeasure to the news. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida said the withdrawal would be a “grave error” and that Kurdish fighters will stop fighting the Islamic State when they must confront Turkish troops crossing the border into Syria. “This is a bad idea because it goes against the fight against ISIS and potentially helps ISIS,” he said, warning it could trigger a broader conflict in the region. Just last week, the U.S. special envoy to the anti-ISIS coalition, Brett McGurk, said U.S. troops would remain in Syria even after the Islamic State was driven from its strongholds. “ I think it’s fair to say Americans will remain on the ground after the physical defeat of the caliph ate, until we have the pieces in place to ensure that that defeat is enduring,” McGurk told reporters on Dec. 11. “Nobody is declaring a mission accomplished. Defeating a physical caliphate is one phase of a much longer-term campaign.” And two weeks ago Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the U.S. still has a long way to go in training local Syrian forces to prevent a resur gence of IS and stabilize the coun try. He said it will take 35,000 to 40,000 local troops in northeastern Syria to maintain security over the long term, but only about 20 percent of that number have been trained. Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, said in Sep tember that the U.S. would keep a military presence in Syria as long as Iran was active there. “We’re not going to leave as long as Ira nian troops are outside Iranian borders and that includes Iranian proxies and militias,” he said. 100 days to Brexit: EU, UK act to cushion turmoil of no-deal Associated Press LONDON — The Euro pean Union marked 100 days until Brexit on Wednesday by triggering an action plan to ensure planes can still fly and money can still flow between Britain and the bloc in the increasingly likely event that the U.K. leaves the EU with out a divorce deal. The British government, struggling to break a politi cal logjam over Brexit, released immigration plans that it said will “take back control” of the country’s borders — but which oppo nents warn will batter the economy by shutting out everyone but highly paid professionals. The EU measures, announced a day after Brit ain ramped up its own no deal planning, are intended to alleviate “major disrup tion” to people and busi nesses in case squabbling U.K. politicians fail to ratify a withdrawal agreement between Britain and the bloc. European Commission Vice President Valdis Dom- brovskis called the contin gency plan “an exercise in limiting damage.” Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29, but it’s unclear whether lawmak ers will approve the divorce agreement Prime Minister Theresa May’s government has negotiated with the bloc. May postponed a vote in Par liament last week because the deal faced heavy defeat. It has been rescheduled for mid-January, but opposition remains strong across the political spectrum. Leaving without a deal risks plunging the British economy into recession and sparking chaos at the bor ders, as four decades of eco nomic alignment and open markets evaporate. The EU plan includes tem porary one- to two-year mea sures to allow some U.K.-EU financial services to continue and a 12-month provision to keep planes flying between Britain and the bloc. But Dombrovskis stressed that the measures “cannot replicate the benefits of the withdrawal agreement, and certainly it cannot rep licate the benefits of EU membership.” Britain’s no-deal prepara tions include putting 3,500 soldiers on standby, charter ing boats to bring in goods and stockpiling medicines. The government called them sensible precautions, but opposition politicians accused May of trying to scare lawmakers into sup porting her Brexit deal. abersham treat 3" Assisted Care Community Now Offers a New Assisted Living Home Located <8> 258 Park Ave Baldwin GA The uite Life Come by for a visit. Prebook one of our new rooms that you can make your very own. www.habershamretreat.com Call us @ 706-499-6842 EARLY DEADLINES FOR CHRISTMAS DAY Because of the upcoming Christmas Day holiday The Times will alter its advertising and legals deadline as follows: Retail Display Ads Publication The Times Date Deadline Wednesday 12/26 Friday, 12/21 Thursday 12/27 Friday, 12/21 Classified Line Ads Publication The Times Date Deadline Wednesday 12/26 Friday, 12/21 @ 3pm Legal Ads Publication The Times Date Deadline Wednesday 12/26 Wednesday, 12/19 @ 5pm Thursday 12/27 Wednesday, 12/19 @ 5pm £ht33me$ gainesvilletimes.com will be CLOSED Tuesday, December 25th, in observance of Christmas. New Years Eve OfR'ENDSH'PSPR'^ Ring in 2019 with The Venue Jazz Ochestra, a 17-piece ensemble featuring some of the most talented musicians in the country. Your General Admission Ticket Includes: •Admission into The Venue at Friendship Springs with tabled seating (see options online). •A delectable dinner buffet by Cucina Milano Catering (7:30 pm-9:30 pm) •Complimentary champagne toast at midnight •Late night hot snack buffet (11:15 pm) •Huge Dance Floor •Party Favors 18+ to enter please. Cash bars will be open all evening. Please bring your ID’s to drink. Cash and credit accepted at cash bars. Need a FREE ride home at the end of the evening? The Venue shutde will start running at mid-night within a 5 mile radius of The Venue at Friendship Springs. The Venue at Friendship Springs is located at the intersection of Spout Springs Road and Friendship Road directly behind Publix. For tickets, visit www.thevenueatfriendshipsprings.com
