NASHVILLE - A bipartisan U.S. House vote this week condemning President Donald Trump's abrupt decision to withdraw American military forces from northeastern Syria triggered a rare split among Tennessee and Georgia Republican representatives.
The resolution states Congress' opposition to Trump's troop pullback announcement last week which quickly left the U.S.'s Kurdish allies, who helped battle ISIS, under attack from Turkey. The nonbinding measure cleared the House on a 354-60 vote.
Tennessee and Georgia Republicans accounted for seven of the votes to condemn Trump cast by GOP congressmen. But among most Republicans there was overwhelming support for the resolution - 129 voted yes - despite majority Democrats' ongoing impeachment inquiry into Trump over Ukraine which GOP congressmen are unified in opposing.
In Tennessee, Republican U.S. Reps. Chuck Fleischmann of Ooltewah, Scott DesJarlais of South Pittsburg, Tim Burchett of Knoxville and John Rose of Cookeville were among the 60 opposing the resolution condemning the president's handling of Syria.
Volunteer State Republicans supporting the resolution were Reps. Phil Roe of Johnson City, Mark Green of Clarksville and David Kustoff of Memphis. Also voting aye were Democratic Reps. Jim Cooper of Nashville and Steve Cohen of Memphis.
Georgia House Republican lawmakers also were split on the resolution stemming from an uproar over Trump's abrupt announcement he was withdrawing remaining American troops from the area. Following that, Turkish forces quickly attacked the Kurdish allies, who had been key in the fight against Islamic State terrorists. American troops were also placed in a dangerous situation, according to multiple accounts.
In addition to opposing the U.S. troop pullback, the resolution calls on the White House to come up with a plan to ensure the "enduring defeat" of the Islamic State, a number of whose members jailed in Kurdish-run prisons have escaped.
Georgia Republicans split 6-3 in favor of the Syria resolution, with Rep. Jody Hice simply voting present. Rep. Tom Graves, who represents parts of North Georgia, was among the three voting against it.
In a statement on Thursday, Fleischmann said while the Kurds "are our allies in the Middle East," the resolution approved on Wednesday "failed to address Turkey's escalating provocations in the region by merely expressing the sentiment of the House."
Fleischmann pointed to a measure he's cosponsoring, the Strengthening America's Security in the Middle East Act, saying it "takes concrete action to provide stability to our allies and prevent future conflict."
Moreover, Fleischmann said, negotiations led by Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo resulted Thursday in Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreeing to a temporary ceasefire.
"While sanctions have been lifted and violence appears to have halted, I will continue to monitor the de-escalation of this situation with the hope that our allies in the Middle East will have peace and security," Fleischmann said.
DesJarlais charged the House resolution "essentially blames Barack Obama's failed foreign policy on Donald Trump, who has made major progress in Syria and elsewhere. Our former president called ISIS the 'J.V. squad' before it took over large portions of Iraq and Syria. He drew a 'red line,' which he refused to enforce, instead inviting Russia to monitor Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad."
The South Pittsburg congressman said Trump "is doing exactly what he said he would do with the support of a majority of Americans, who never approved large troop numbers in Syria. Nor has Congress. When given the opportunity, both Republicans and Democrats have refused to endorse the occupying force this week's resolution would require."
He argued American forces in the Middle East "are well positioned to protect U.S. interests, and we have other means of punishing bad behavior, such as economic sanctions on Turkey. The president is reconstructing broken alliances that will help to stabilize the situation. I could not support this week's resolution, because it lacks many of these important details."
Democrat Cooper, however, said Trump's "decision to withdraw troops from Syria is dangerous and a betrayal of our Kurdish allies. The House overwhelmingly voted to oppose this decision, and even nearly two-thirds of Republicans think the withdrawal is a mistake and sided against President Trump on this important vote."
Efforts to reach several other Republicans, including Georgia's Graves, were unsuccessful.
Later on Thursday, efforts to pass the nonbinding measure were rejected by Senate Republicans. Politico reported that Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, blocked attempts by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, to approve the resolution unanimously. Paul said it "does nothing to fix the problem." Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, criticized the resolution earlier, saying the Senate needs to pass something "stronger."
Earlier this week, former U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, the one-time Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, called Trump's "green light" to Turkey's invasion of northern Syria a "betrayal of huge proportions" that "jerked the rug" out from under America's Kurdish allies.
The Chattanooga Republican also characterized the impact of the president's abrupt move during his telephone call last week with Turkish President Erdogan as "gut wrenching" during the Times Free Press interview.
Saying it was "all so unnecessary and uncalled for," Corker added, "of course it's evident now that the president wishes he had not [done] that very un-thought-out, sloppy phone call that he had" with Erdogan.
Meanwhile, one of Trump's staunchest Tennessee supporters, Republican U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, has also been sharply critical of Trump's decision to withdraw troops. She announced Thursday she has joined with a group of Republicans, including Sen. Lindsay Graham of South Carolina, and Democratic senators on a sanctions bill targeting Turkey.
"Without reservation, I lend my wholehearted support to this bipartisan, comprehensive sanctions legislation that holds Turkey, its leadership, and its military accountable for its atrocities," she said.
Alluding to the announcement by the White House on a temporary ceasefire, Blackburn said that although she is "encouraged that the lines of communication are open, this five-day pause in hostilities does not make up for the lives lost, families displaced, and homes destroyed over the course of the Turkish incursion.
"Turkey must be held accountable for its destabilization of northern Syria, as well as its massacre of our Kurdish partners. Russia must not be given any geopolitical space; ISIS must not be allowed to resurge," Blackburn added. "Until Turkey has agreed to a permanent solution that achieves these objectives, the United States must hold strong and these sanctions must remain on the table."
Contact Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com or 615-255-0550. Follow him on Twitter @AndySher1.